COSMOS 1766

COSMOS 1766 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1986-07-28 from PKMTR. With over 40 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 395 km and 404 km with an inclination of 82.5°. It travels at approximately 27,622 km/h (7.67 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.56 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1766 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 1766 orbits at an average altitude of 400 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 1766’s average altitude, there are currently 1,329 active payloads and 92 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 82.5°, COSMOS 1766 passes over latitudes between 82.5°N and 82.5°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 33 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1766.