DELTA 4 R/B

DELTA 4 R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2014-05-17 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the GPS SVN 67 launch. After 12 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 20,749 km and 20,826 km with an inclination of 56.6°. It travels at approximately 13,792 km/h (3.83 km/s), completing one full orbit every 12 hours 23 minutes — that’s roughly 1.94 orbits per day. Spent rocket bodies like DELTA 4 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.

DELTA 4 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 20,788 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of DELTA 4 R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 9 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 56.6°, DELTA 4 R/B passes over latitudes between 56.6°N and 56.6°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total.