COSMOS 1869

COSMOS 1869 is an active satellite operated by GMS / Yuzhnoe (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1987-07-16 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Okean-O1 NKhM No. 4 launch. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 438 km and 457 km with an inclination of 82.5°. It travels at approximately 27,525 km/h (7.65 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.40 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1869 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 1869 orbits at an average altitude of 448 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 1869’s average altitude, there are currently 10,524 active payloads and 154 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 55.5% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 82.5°, COSMOS 1869 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 1,547 active satellites in total, of which 54 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1869.