BREEZE-M R/B

BREEZE-M R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2015-12-13 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Garpun No. 12L launch. After 11 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 33,221 km and 35,988 km with an inclination of 8.5°. It travels at approximately 11,228 km/h (3.12 km/s), completing one full orbit every 22 hours 56 minutes — that’s roughly 1.05 orbits per day. Spent rocket bodies like BREEZE-M 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.

BREEZE-M R/B 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 8.5°, 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 BREEZE-M R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 3 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total.