[4] Kosmos 2516 was launched from Site 43/4 at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia.

A Soyuz-2-1b carrier rocket with a Fregat upper stage was used to perform the launch which took place at 08:44 UTC on 29 May 2016.

The launch successfully placed the satellite into a Medium Earth orbit.

The United States Space Command assigned it the Satellite Catalog Number 41554.

[5] Kosmos 2516 experienced a depressurization event in November 2020, which permanently disabled the satellite after four years in service.