COSMOS 1607 FUEL CORE

COSMOS 1607 FUEL CORE is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1984-10-31 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the US-A reactor launch. With over 42 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 909 km and 966 km with an inclination of 65.0°. It travels at approximately 26,586 km/h (7.39 km/s), completing one full orbit every 104 minutes — that’s roughly 13.88 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, COSMOS 1607 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 1607 FUEL CORE orbits at an average altitude of 938 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 1607 FUEL CORE’s average altitude, there are currently 330 active payloads and 1,140 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 65.0°, COSMOS 1607 FUEL CORE passes over latitudes between 65.0°N and 65.0°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 149 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1607 FUEL CORE.