COSMOS 220

COSMOS 220 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1968-05-07 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Tsiklon launch. 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 603 km and 650 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 27,171 km/h (7.55 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.81 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 220 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 220 orbits at an average altitude of 627 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 220’s average altitude, there are currently 1,034 active payloads and 881 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 5.5% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 74.0°, COSMOS 220 passes over latitudes between 74.0°N and 74.0°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 1,553 active satellites in total, of which 19 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 220.