MOLNIYA 3-27

MOLNIYA 3-27 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1985-12-24 from PKMTR. With over 41 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 1,006 km and 37,364 km with an inclination of 62.0°. It travels at approximately 14,218 km/h (3.95 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 18 minutes — that’s roughly 2.12 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7113 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MOLNIYA 3-27 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MOLNIYA 3-27 orbits at an average altitude of 19,185 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 MOLNIYA 3-27’s average altitude, there are currently 8 active payloads and 8 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include COSMOS 1492 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1556 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1594 (GLONASS). This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 62.0°, MOLNIYA 3-27 passes over latitudes between 62.0°N and 62.0°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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 8 share a similar altitude band with MOLNIYA 3-27.