COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1)

COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1989-01-10 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 37 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 19,066 km and 19,185 km with an inclination of 65.0°. It travels at approximately 14,234 km/h (3.95 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 16 minutes — that’s roughly 2.13 orbits per day. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) orbits at an average altitude of 19,126 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 1989 (ETALON 1)’s average altitude, there are currently 141 active payloads and 47 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include COSMOS 1414 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1490 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1492 (GLONASS). With an inclination of 65.0°, COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) passes over latitudes between 65.0°N and 65.0°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 141 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1).