COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS)

COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS) is an active satellite operated by Russian Space Forces (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1992-01-29 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 34 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 19,048 km and 19,211 km with an inclination of 64.9°. It travels at approximately 14,233 km/h (3.95 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 16 minutes — that’s roughly 2.13 orbits per day. It is part of the Glo Ops constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS) orbits at an average altitude of 19,130 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 2178 (GLONASS)’s average altitude, there are currently 141 active payloads and 45 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include COSMOS 1414 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1490 (GLONASS), COSMOS 1492 (GLONASS). With an inclination of 64.9°, COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS) passes over latitudes between 64.9°N and 64.9°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 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 141 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2178 (GLONASS).