COSMOS 480

COSMOS 480 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1972-03-25 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Sfera launch. After more than 54 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 1,170 km and 1,200 km with an inclination of 83.0°. It travels at approximately 26,147 km/h (7.26 km/s), completing one full orbit every 109 minutes — that’s roughly 13.20 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 480 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 480 orbits at an average altitude of 1,185 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 480’s average altitude, there are currently 888 active payloads and 305 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 83.0°, COSMOS 480 passes over latitudes between 83.0°N and 83.0°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 1,553 active satellites in total, of which 15 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 480.