Live count
How many satellites does the CIS (former USSR) have?
As of 6 October 2026, 02:10 UTC, the catalogue records 381 active satellites for the CIS (former USSR), 2.3 percent of the catalogue's active satellites.
See also: all owners ranked, United States, China, United Kingdom, Japan.
What makes up this fleet
Recorded as "Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR)", the 4th largest fleet among 99 owners.
Name families
Our own grouping by the run of two or more letters that starts each catalogue name ("DMC3" counts as DMC); where the catalogue uses more than one prefix for a fleet, we do not merge them. 22 of these satellites (5.8 percent) have no name family: 21 have only a launch designator so far; 1 has a name that does not start with two or more letters, such as 239ALFEROV (RS61S).
| Family | Satellites | Share (percent) | Main orbit group | Most common CelesTrak group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COSMOS | 145 | 38.1 | Low | Navigation |
| SITRO | 46 | 12.1 | Low | Amateur radio |
| RASSVET | 31 | 8.1 | Low | None recorded |
| GONETS | 23 | 6.0 | Low | Amateur radio |
| EXPRESS | 12 | 3.1 | Geostationary | Geostationary |
| GEOSCAN | 6 | 1.6 | Low | Amateur radio |
| HORS | 5 | 1.3 | Low | Amateur radio |
| KANOPUS | 5 | 1.3 | Low | None recorded |
| MERIDIAN | 5 | 1.3 | High elliptical | Amateur radio |
| YAMAL | 5 | 1.3 | Geostationary | Geostationary |
| 49 other families | 76 | 19.9 | ||
| No name family | 22 | 5.8 |
The group is the CelesTrak list a satellite is in, as the collector maps those lists to purposes; a satellite in several lists gets only one of them, so a family's group need not describe its mission.
Launched in the last 30 days
2 of these satellites were launched in the 30 days before the data time. Both have a name in the catalogue.
| Launch date | Satellites | Named | Only a launch designator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2026 | 1 | PROGRESS-MS 35 | None |
| 17 September 2026 | 1 | COSMOS 2620 [GLONASS-K1] | None |
Orbit groups
The CIS (former USSR) leans towards medium Earth orbit: 8.9 percent of its fleet against 1.1 percent of the catalogue. Groups as defined under how these numbers are made.
| Orbit group | Satellites | Share (percent) | Catalogue share (percent) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low (below 2,000 km) | 302 | 79.3 | 95.1 |
| Medium (2,000 to 35,585 km) | 34 | 8.9 | 1.1 |
| Geostationary belt | 30 | 7.9 | 3.4 |
| High elliptical (e 0.25+) | 12 | 3.1 | 0.3 |
| Beyond geostationary | 3 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
Map at the data time
Positions at 02:10 UTC are approximate (how). 29 within 1 degree of the equator (23 geostationary) are not placed north or south. Busiest band of the rest: 60 to 90 degrees north, 18.5 percent; 52.3 percent north of the equator. Satellites closer than 0.1 degree share a dot, so the map has 378 dots.
Purposes
The catalogue records no purpose grouping for 55.9 percent of them. The most common recorded purpose is Amateur radio, with 83 satellites, 21.8 percent. After it come Navigation (26), Geostationary (24) and Search and rescue (11).
| Purpose | Satellites |
|---|---|
| Unspecified | 213 |
| Amateur radio | 83 |
| Navigation | 26 |
| Geostationary | 24 |
| Search and rescue | 11 |
| Earth observation | 6 |
| CubeSat | 5 |
| Space station | 4 |
| All other purposes | 9 |
Launch years
Most of them, 59.3 percent, were launched in 2022 or later. The launch year with the most of them is 2024, with 60.
| Launch year | Satellites |
|---|---|
| Earlier | 41 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2013 | 15 |
| 2014 | 19 |
| 2015 | 15 |
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2019 | 14 |
| 2020 | 15 |
| 2021 | 7 |
| 2022 | 14 |
| 2023 | 45 |
| 2024 | 60 |
| 2025 | 50 |
| 2026 | 57 |
Earliest launches among satellites the catalogue lists as active:
| Launch date | Satellites |
|---|---|
| 10 January 1989 | COSMOS 1989 (ETALON 1) |
| 31 May 1989 | COSMOS 2024 (ETALON 2) |
| 26 December 1994 | RADIO ROSTO (RS15) |
How this was counted
381 of the 16,622 satellites on the count page carry the owner "Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR)". Full method: how these numbers are made.
Questions
Where does the CIS (former USSR) rank among satellite owners?
4th. The United Kingdom is ahead with 697; Japan follows with 134.
Which name family is largest among satellites the catalogue records for the CIS (former USSR)?
COSMOS, with 145, ahead of SITRO with 46; 22 have no name family, too few to change that order.
How many were launched in the last 30 days?
2 of the 154 active satellites launched in the 30 days before the data time.
Sources
CelesTrak: active list, SATCAT, owner codes, status codes.