COSMOS 1408 DEB

COSMOS 1408 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1982-09-16 from PKMTR on the Tselina-D 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 345 km and 374 km with an inclination of 82.6°. It travels at approximately 27,704 km/h (7.70 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.70 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. As orbital debris, COSMOS 1408 DEB 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 1408 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 360 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 1408 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 1,196 active payloads and 53 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1020, STARLINK-1036, STARLINK-1042. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 6.8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 82.6°, COSMOS 1408 DEB passes over latitudes between 82.6°N and 82.6°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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 24 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1408 DEB.