DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO)

DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO) is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1978-10-24 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the Nimbus G launch. With over 48 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 921 km and 964 km with an inclination of 99.4°. It travels at approximately 26,577 km/h (7.38 km/s), completing one full orbit every 104 minutes — that’s roughly 13.86 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO) are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO) orbits at an average altitude of 943 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO)’s average altitude, there are currently 348 active payloads and 1,131 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 99.4°, DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO) passes over latitudes between 99.4°N and 99.4°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total, of which 90 share a similar altitude band with DELTA 1 R/B(+CAMEO).