COSMOS 2054 DEB

COSMOS 2054 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1989-12-27 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 37 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 36,370 km and 36,588 km with an inclination of 13.4°. It travels at approximately 10,980 km/h (3.05 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.5 hours — that’s roughly 0.98 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. As orbital debris, COSMOS 2054 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 2054 DEB occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 13.4°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2054 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 10 active payloads and 24 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 3 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2054 DEB.