CZ-6A R/B

CZ-6A R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2024-08-06 from Taiyuan, China on the Qianfan Jigui 01 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 796 km and 856 km with an inclination of 89.0°. It travels at approximately 26,791 km/h (7.44 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.20 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like CZ-6A 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-6A R/B orbits at an average altitude of 826 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 CZ-6A R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 368 active payloads and 2,267 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 89.0°, CZ-6A R/B passes over latitudes between 89.0°N and 89.0°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 109 share a similar altitude band with CZ-6A R/B.