PSLV R/B

PSLV R/B is a spent rocket body associated with India, launched on 2011-10-12 from SRI on the Megha-Tropiques launch. After 15 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 776 km and 862 km with an inclination of 19.8°. It travels at approximately 26,804 km/h (7.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.22 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like PSLV R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

PSLV R/B orbits at an average altitude of 819 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 PSLV R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 395 active payloads and 2,295 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 19.8°, PSLV R/B passes over latitudes between 19.8°N and 19.8°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. India operates approximately 108 active satellites in total, of which 11 share a similar altitude band with PSLV R/B.