COSMOS 1041
NORAD 11050
Payload
LEO
1978-091H
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🛰️ Orbital Parameters
Perigee
1477 km
Apogee
1508 km
Inclination
74.0°
Period
115.8 min
Mean Motion
12.43325606 rev/day
TLE Epoch
2026-05-08 20:00:00 UTC
📐 Computed Orbital Characteristics
Avg. Altitude1,493 km
Orbital Velocity25,631 km/h
Velocity7.12 km/s
Orbital Period116 minutes
Orbits / Day12.43
Eccentricity0.0020
Semi-Major Axis7,864 km
Est. Orbital LifetimeThousands of years
🚀 Launch & Identity
Country / Operator
🇷🇺 Russia (CIS)
Launch Date
1978-10-04
Launch Site
PKMTR
Int'l Designator
1978-091H
Object Type
Payload
RCS Size
Medium (0.1–1 m²)
📖 About This Object
COSMOS 1041 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1978-10-04 from PKMTR. With over 48 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,477 km and 1,508 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 25,631 km/h (7.12 km/s), completing one full orbit every 116 minutes — that’s roughly 12.43 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1041 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.
🌍 Orbit Context
COSMOS 1041 orbits in the upper reaches of Low Earth Orbit, above 1,000 km. At this altitude, atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can remain in orbit for thousands of years without active deorbiting. This region is used by satellite broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions that need stable, long-duration orbits away from the densest debris bands. The high inclination typical at this altitude provides near-global coverage.
🔗 Cosmos (Military/Government) Series
This satellite carries the Cosmos designation, used by Russia (and formerly the Soviet Union) as a generic identifier for military and government spacecraft. The Cosmos series encompasses reconnaissance, signals intelligence (SIGINT), early warning, navigation, communications and scientific payloads. Many Cosmos satellites have classified missions with limited publicly available information.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
COSMOS 1041 orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,477 km (perigee) and 1,508 km (apogee), with an average altitude of approximately 1,493 km. It completes one orbit every 116 minutes, travelling at approximately 25,631 km/h (15,926 mph).
COSMOS 1041 is operated by Russia (CIS). It is catalogued by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network under NORAD ID 11050. You can track COSMOS 1041 in real time on Orbital Radar’s live tracker.
COSMOS 1041 was launched on 1978-10-04 from PKMTR. At its current altitude, the estimated remaining orbital lifetime is: thousands of years.
Yes — Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1041 (NORAD ID 11050) using the latest TLE (two-line element set) data from Space-Track and CelesTrak. Open the live tracker to see its current position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated in real time.
COSMOS 1041 travels at approximately 25,631 km/h (15,926 mph) — roughly 7.12 km/s. It completes 12.43 orbits per day, meaning the crew or instruments aboard (if any) would experience approximately 25 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.