COSMOS 2609

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarRussia

COSMOS 2609 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 548 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 96 minutes at an inclination of 98.1°. It was launched in 2026. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 68754
COSPAR ID: 2026-083B
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 548 km
Apogee (highest): 563 km
Inclination: 98.14°
Orbital period: 96 min
Launch year: 2026
Owner (CelesTrak): Russia

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

Who operates it

RussiaLIVEActive

Optical imaging (unconfirmed)

Official description

“... a medium-class Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with spacecraft was launched in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defence.”

Russian Ministry of Defence, Telegram, 17 Apr 2026

azmth's translation · Show original

«...осуществлен пуск ракеты-носителя среднего класса «Союз-2.1б» с космическими аппаратами в интересах Минобороны России.»

It names no satellite or purpose.

Independent assessment

GCAT has not classed it yet; it lists its owner, Aerospace Defence Forces, as a military organisation 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.