COSMOS 2535 DEB

COSMOS 2535 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2019-07-10 from PKMTR. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 512 km and 528 km with an inclination of 97.5°. It travels at approximately 27,380 km/h (7.61 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 15.15 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 2535 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 2535 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 520 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2535 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 7,718 active payloads and 278 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1231. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 44.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.5°, COSMOS 2535 DEB passes over latitudes between 97.5°N and 97.5°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 52 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2535 DEB.