COSMOS 312

COSMOS 312 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1969-11-24 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Sfera launch. After more than 57 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 1,141 km and 1,174 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 26,195 km/h (7.28 km/s), completing one full orbit every 109 minutes — that’s roughly 13.27 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 312 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 312 orbits at an average altitude of 1,158 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 312’s average altitude, there are currently 673 active payloads and 362 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 74.0°, COSMOS 312 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 15 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 312.