COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS)

COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS) is an active satellite operated by Russian Space Forces (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1984-05-19 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 42 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 19,119 km and 19,171 km with an inclination of 66.4°. It travels at approximately 14,229 km/h (3.95 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 16 minutes — that’s roughly 2.13 orbits per day. It is part of the Glo Ops constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS) orbits at an average altitude of 19,145 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS)’s average altitude, there are currently 142 active payloads and 43 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include COSMOS 1414 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1490 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1492 (GLONASS). With an inclination of 66.4°, COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS) passes over latitudes between 66.4°N and 66.4°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 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 142 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS).