COSMOS 1818 COOLANT

COSMOS 1818 COOLANT is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1987-02-01 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 749 km and 776 km with an inclination of 65.0°. It travels at approximately 26,910 km/h (7.48 km/s), completing one full orbit every 100 minutes — that’s roughly 14.39 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~25–100 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 1818 COOLANT 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 1818 COOLANT orbits at an average altitude of 763 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 1818 COOLANT’s average altitude, there are currently 370 active payloads and 2,057 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0179. With an inclination of 65.0°, COSMOS 1818 COOLANT 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 49 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1818 COOLANT.