COSMOS 2609

COSMOS 2609 is an active satellite operated by VVKO VKS (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2026-04-16 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Unknown launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 540 km and 558 km with an inclination of 98.1°. It travels at approximately 27,322 km/h (7.59 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 15.06 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 ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2609 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2609 orbits at an average altitude of 549 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 2609’s average altitude, there are currently 1,710 active payloads and 398 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 9.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 98.1°, COSMOS 2609 passes over latitudes between 98.1°N and 98.1°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 1,535 active satellites in total, of which 50 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2609.