COSMOS 2596

COSMOS 2596 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 2025-09-13 from PKMTR. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 18,821 km and 19,154 km with an inclination of 64.6°. It travels at approximately 14,273 km/h (3.96 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 10 minutes — that’s roughly 2.15 orbits per day. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2596 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2596 orbits at an average altitude of 18,988 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2596’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 6 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include COSMOS 1491 (GLONASS). This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 64.6°, COSMOS 2596 passes over latitudes between 64.6°N and 64.6°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 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2596.