COSMOS 252 DEB *

COSMOS 252 DEB * is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1968-11-01 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the I2P launch. After more than 58 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 603 km and 2,272 km with an inclination of 63.0°. It travels at approximately 25,721 km/h (7.14 km/s), completing one full orbit every 115 minutes — that’s roughly 12.56 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1069 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 252 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 252 DEB * orbits at an average altitude of 1,438 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 252 DEB *’s average altitude, there are currently 502 active payloads and 307 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 63.0°, COSMOS 252 DEB * passes over latitudes between 63.0°N and 63.0°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 1,535 active satellites in total, of which 443 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 252 DEB *.