SL-12 R/B(2)

SL-12 R/B(2) is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 1987-12-10 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Gran' No. 32L launch. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 34,862 km and 35,000 km with an inclination of 9.7°. It travels at approximately 11,184 km/h (3.11 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 13 minutes — that’s roughly 1.03 orbits per day. 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 9.7°, 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 0 active payloads and 9 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total.