COSMOS 2499 DEB

COSMOS 2499 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2014-05-23 from PKMTR. After 12 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 918 km and 1,377 km with an inclination of 82.2°. It travels at approximately 26,212 km/h (7.28 km/s), completing one full orbit every 108 minutes — that’s roughly 13.30 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 2499 DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

COSMOS 2499 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,148 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 2499 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 516 active payloads and 299 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 82.2°, COSMOS 2499 DEB passes over latitudes between 82.2°N and 82.2°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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 7 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2499 DEB.