COSMOS 252 DEB

COSMOS 252 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1968-11-01 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. After more than 58 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 668 km and 1,247 km with an inclination of 62.2°. It travels at approximately 26,550 km/h (7.37 km/s), completing one full orbit every 104 minutes — that’s roughly 13.82 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 252 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 252 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 958 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 252 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 299 active payloads and 1,060 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 62.2°, COSMOS 252 DEB passes over latitudes between 62.2°N and 62.2°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 164 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 252 DEB.