COSMOS 2552

COSMOS 2552 is an active satellite operated by Ministry of Defense (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2021-11-25 from PKMTR on the Kupol No. 5 launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 3,099 km and 37,254 km with an inclination of 62.8°. It travels at approximately 13,950 km/h (3.87 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 58 minutes — that’s roughly 2.01 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.6433 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 2552 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 2552 orbits at an average altitude of 20,177 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 2552’s average altitude, there are currently 105 active payloads and 12 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include GPS BIIR-5 (PRN 22), GPS BIIR-8 (PRN 16), GPS BIIR-11 (PRN 19). With an inclination of 62.8°, COSMOS 2552 passes over latitudes between 62.8°N and 62.8°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 1,287 active satellites in total, of which 57 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 2552.