COSMOS 2561

COSMOS 2561 is an active satellite operated by Ministry of Defense (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2022-10-21 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the 14F164/14F172 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 398 km and 413 km with an inclination of 96.9°. It travels at approximately 27,610 km/h (7.67 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.54 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2561 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2561 orbits at an average altitude of 406 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2561’s average altitude, there are currently 1,324 active payloads and 93 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 96.9°, COSMOS 2561 passes over latitudes between 96.9°N and 96.9°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,536 active satellites in total, of which 43 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2561.