COSMOS 2617

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarRussia

COSMOS 2617 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 306 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 91 minutes at an inclination of 96.6°. It was launched in 2026. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 68828
COSPAR ID: 2026-090C
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 306 km
Apogee (highest): 317 km
Inclination: 96.64°
Orbital period: 91 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

Official description

“... a combat crew of the Space Forces of the Aerospace Forces successfully launched a light-class Angara-1.2 carrier rocket with spacecraft in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defence.”

Russian Ministry of Defence, Telegram, 23 Apr 2026

azmth's translation · Show original

«...боевым расчетом космических войск Воздушно-космических сил успешно осуществлен пуск ракеты-носителя легкого класса «Ангара-1.2» с космическими аппаратами в интересах Минобороны России.»

It names no satellite or purpose.

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for optical imaging 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.