COSMOS 2517 (GEO-IK 2)

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarRussia

COSMOS 2517 (GEO-IK 2) is a military satellite, as listed in Jonathan McDowell's GCAT catalogue, with ownership listed as Russia in CelesTrak's catalogue, currently in low Earth orbit, around 949 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 104 minutes at an inclination of 99.2°. It was launched in 2016. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 41579
COSPAR ID: 2016-034A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 949 km
Apogee (highest): 951 km
Inclination: 99.19°
Orbital period: 104 min
Launch year: 2016
Owner (CelesTrak): Russia

Orbital data updated: 2026-10-18 · from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

Who operates it

RussiaLIVEActive

Measuring Earth

GCAT lists it as Geo-IK-2 No. 12L.

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for measuring Earth and records it as active (17 Oct 2026).

Data: GCAT · CC BY 4.0 Class, mission and status adapted from GCAT by Jonathan McDowell, CC BY 4.0, data update 17 Oct 2026.

Military satellites, counted and explained →

About LEO orbit

Low Earth Orbit. Up to 2,000 km altitude. Where most satellites live including the ISS (~420 km), Starlink (~550 km), and Earth observation. Orbital period roughly 90 minutes.