COSMOS 1372 FUEL CORE

COSMOS 1372 FUEL CORE is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1982-06-01 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the US-A reactor launch. With over 44 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 904 km and 954 km with an inclination of 64.9°. It travels at approximately 26,602 km/h (7.39 km/s), completing one full orbit every 104 minutes — that’s roughly 13.90 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 1372 FUEL CORE 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 1372 FUEL CORE orbits at an average altitude of 929 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 1372 FUEL CORE’s average altitude, there are currently 260 active payloads and 1,166 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 64.9°, COSMOS 1372 FUEL CORE passes over latitudes between 64.9°N and 64.9°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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 78 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1372 FUEL CORE.