COSMOS 381

COSMOS 381 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1970-12-02 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Ionosfernaya Stantsiya N launch. After more than 56 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 959 km and 1,004 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 26,507 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.75 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 381 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 381 orbits at an average altitude of 982 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 381’s average altitude, there are currently 413 active payloads and 1,156 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 74.0°, COSMOS 381 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 1,552 active satellites in total, of which 198 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 381.