COSMOS 1897 DEB

COSMOS 1897 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1987-11-26 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,652 km and 35,808 km with an inclination of 10.9°. It travels at approximately 11,077 km/h (3.08 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. As orbital debris, COSMOS 1897 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 1897 DEB occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 10.9°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 1897 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 51 active payloads and 41 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 26 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1897 DEB.