COSMOS 2528 DEB

COSMOS 2528 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2018-10-25 from PKMTR. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 886 km and 905 km with an inclination of 67.2°. It travels at approximately 26,663 km/h (7.41 km/s), completing one full orbit every 103 minutes — that’s roughly 14.00 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 2528 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 2528 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 896 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 2528 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 197 active payloads and 1,422 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 67.2°, COSMOS 2528 DEB passes over latitudes between 67.2°N and 67.2°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 57 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2528 DEB.