COSMOS 886 DEB

COSMOS 886 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1976-12-27 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. After more than 50 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 546 km and 1,608 km with an inclination of 65.8°. It travels at approximately 26,336 km/h (7.32 km/s), completing one full orbit every 107 minutes — that’s roughly 13.49 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 886 DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

COSMOS 886 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,077 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 886 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 187 active payloads and 403 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 65.8°, COSMOS 886 DEB passes over latitudes between 65.8°N and 65.8°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,287 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 886 DEB.