SCOUT G-1 DEB

SCOUT G-1 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1985-08-03 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the NNS O-24 launch. With over 41 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 809 km and 963 km with an inclination of 89.9°. It travels at approximately 26,680 km/h (7.41 km/s), completing one full orbit every 103 minutes — that’s roughly 14.02 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, SCOUT G-1 DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

SCOUT G-1 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 886 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of SCOUT G-1 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 170 active payloads and 1,584 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 89.9°, SCOUT G-1 DEB passes over latitudes between 89.9°N and 89.9°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 31 share a similar altitude band with SCOUT G-1 DEB.