COSMOS 422 DEB

COSMOS 422 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1971-05-22 from PKMTR. After more than 55 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 966 km and 987 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 26,516 km/h (7.37 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.76 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 422 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 422 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 977 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 422 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 286 active payloads and 959 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 74.0°, COSMOS 422 DEB 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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 162 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 422 DEB.