Orbital Traffic All objects

Geostationary

COSMOS 2520

Military (Classified) · Russian Ministry of Defence

Right now

It moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.

Watch it live on the 3D globe

A classified Russian military satellite in geostationary orbit. Russia routinely launches highly capable military satellites under the Cosmos designation, which provides a level of ambiguity about their missions. COSMOS 2520's orbital position is monitored by independent tracking organizations, but its specific capabilities remain undisclosed. Russia's classified GEO presence mirrors the US approach of maintaining unacknowledged national security payloads in the strategic geostationary belt.

Its orbit

Orbit
Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
Altitude
22,240–22,244 mi (35,791–35,798 km)
Inclination
0.0°
One orbit
23.9 hoursabout one orbit a day
NORAD ID
42907
Int’l designator
2017-046A
Launched
2017

Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.

More geostationary