CZ-2C R/B

CZ-2C R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2022-06-02 from Xichang, China on the GeeSat 01-01/09 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 359 km and 402 km with an inclination of 50.2°. It travels at approximately 27,661 km/h (7.68 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.62 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Spent rocket bodies like CZ-2C 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.

CZ-2C R/B orbits at an average altitude of 381 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of CZ-2C R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1,280 active payloads and 62 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 50.2°, CZ-2C R/B passes over latitudes between 50.2°N and 50.2°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 37 share a similar altitude band with CZ-2C R/B.