COSMOS 637

COSMOS 637 is an active satellite operated by OKB-10 (Russia (CIS)), launched on 1974-03-26 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the 11F638 GVM launch. After more than 52 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,483 km and 35,804 km with an inclination of 0.5°. It travels at approximately 11,088 km/h (3.08 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 49 minutes — that’s roughly 1.01 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 637 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 637 occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 0.5°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 637’s average altitude, there are currently 11 active payloads and 24 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,553 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 637.