COSMOS 422

COSMOS 422 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1971-05-22 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Tsiklon launch. After more than 55 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 980 km and 1,003 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 26,489 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.72 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 422 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 422 orbits at an average altitude of 992 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 422’s average altitude, there are currently 391 active payloads and 1,096 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 74.0°, COSMOS 422 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 1,553 active satellites in total, of which 191 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 422.