COSMOS 382

COSMOS 382 is an active satellite operated by TsKBEM (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1970-12-02 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the L-1e No. 2K launch. After more than 56 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 2,431 km and 5,224 km with an inclination of 55.9°. It travels at approximately 22,506 km/h (6.25 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 51 minutes — that’s roughly 8.42 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1369 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 382 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 382 orbits at an average altitude of 3,828 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 382’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 4 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 55.9°, COSMOS 382 passes over latitudes between 55.9°N and 55.9°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.