BLOCK DM-SL R/B

BLOCK DM-SL R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2019-12-24 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Elektro-L No. 3 launch. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 34,757 km and 35,336 km with an inclination of 5.3°. It travels at approximately 11,168 km/h (3.10 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 18 minutes — that’s roughly 1.03 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like BLOCK DM-SL 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.

BLOCK DM-SL 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 5.3°, 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 BLOCK DM-SL R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 0 active payloads and 11 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total.