COSMOS 2553

COSMOS 2553 is an active satellite operated by Ministry of Defense (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2022-02-05 from PKMTR. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,993 km and 2,000 km with an inclination of 67.1°. It travels at approximately 24,847 km/h (6.90 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 7 minutes — that’s roughly 11.33 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2553 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2553 orbits at an average altitude of 1,997 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2553’s average altitude, there are currently 8 active payloads and 24 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 67.1°, COSMOS 2553 passes over latitudes between 67.1°N and 67.1°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 2 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2553.