The satellite is on the highly elliptical orbit (HEO) with an apogee of 37,400 - 39,800 km, and a perigee of 600-3000 km. The Arktika-M highly elliptical hydrometeorological space system should ...

Why it changed its orbit remains unclear, as does what experiements the craft was conducting. HEO stands for "highly eliptical orbit" and refers to the type of orbit the space plane had at the time.

The United States Space Force released a rare photo of its secretive X-37B space plane in orbit. The image ... Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024," the United States Space Force ...