COSMOS 1844
COSMOS 1844 belongs to the long-running Soviet/Russian Cosmos naming series, a designation applied to many military, scientific and technology spacecraft. Public details vary widely from mission to mission, which makes the object itself part of the history of how much - or how little - nations chose to reveal about orbital activity.
Object identity
- NORAD ID
- 17973
- COSPAR ID
- 1987-041A
- Operator
- Not listed
- Country
- Not listed
- Launch date
- Not listed
Immediate discovery
Why this satellite matters
Even when payload details are limited, orbital data still tells a mathematical story. Altitude, inclination and period reveal the broad geometry of the mission and allow observers to predict when the object will return over a region.
Understanding the mission
Science and engineering ideas
Even when payload details are limited, orbital data still tells a mathematical story. Altitude, inclination and period reveal the broad geometry of the mission and allow observers to predict when the object will return over a region.
Mission
Mission and purpose
The current public orbital catalog identifies this object, but verified mission-specific information may be limited. TransitSatellite will expand this page when authoritative information is available.
- Even when payload details are limited, orbital data still tells a mathematical story. Altitude, inclination and period reveal the broad geometry of the mission and allow observers to predict when the object will return over a region.
Design
Engineering
Even when payload details are limited, orbital data still tells a mathematical story. Altitude, inclination and period reveal the broad geometry of the mission and allow observers to predict when the object will return over a region.
Real orbital values
The mathematics
The current two-line element set reports approximately 14.1458 revolutions per day. Dividing 1,440 minutes by that value gives an estimated orbital period of 101.8 minutes.
Period
101.8 min
Representative speed
26,745 km/h
Representative altitude
851 km
Inclination
70.9°
Launch record
Launch and deployment
The orbital catalog lists the launch designator as 1987-041A. A fully sourced launch story, launch vehicle, deployment sequence, historical weather, and documented delays have not yet been added to this page.
Orbit
LEO orbit explained
Low Earth orbit is the region closest to Earth used by most crewed spacecraft, many science missions, Earth-observation satellites, and large constellations. Objects move quickly and commonly complete an orbit in roughly 90 to 130 minutes.
LEO can provide detailed Earth views, lower communications delay, and easier access than higher orbits, but it covers less area per spacecraft and is more affected by atmospheric drag.
Live TransitSatellite experience
See COSMOS 1844 moving now
Open the live tracker to view its current calculated position, trajectory, orbital information, visibility tools, and Save and Share controls.
Learning
Questions to explore
- What can an orbit tell us before the mission is fully identified?
- Why are stable catalog identifiers important?
Evidence
Sources and data notes
Current identity and orbital elements come from CelesTrak’s public GP data. Calculated orbit values are derived from the current TLE and may change after catalog updates. Mission-history claims are added separately and require authoritative sources.
Catalog updated
Sep 19, 2026, 4:49 PM UTC
Story review
1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z