MERIDIAN 4

MERIDIAN 4 is an active satellite operated by Military Space Forces (VKS) (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2011-05-04 from PKMTR on the Meridian No. 14L launch. After 15 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 103 km and 39,350 km with an inclination of 62.1°. It travels at approximately 14,069 km/h (3.91 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 40 minutes — that’s roughly 5.41 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7519 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MERIDIAN 4 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MERIDIAN 4 orbits at an average altitude of 19,727 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 MERIDIAN 4’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 11 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 62.1°, MERIDIAN 4 passes over latitudes between 62.1°N and 62.1°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 1,288 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with MERIDIAN 4.