SL-12 R/B(2)

SL-12 R/B(2) is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 1980-10-05 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Gran' No. 17L launch. With over 46 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,854 km and 35,895 km with an inclination of 6.2°. It travels at approximately 11,058 km/h (3.07 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like SL-12 R/B(2) are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

SL-12 R/B(2) occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 6.2°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of SL-12 R/B(2)’s average altitude, there are currently 60 active payloads and 33 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 11 share a similar altitude band with SL-12 R/B(2).