FIREFLY ALPHA R/B

FIREFLY ALPHA R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2026-03-12 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the LM-400 Tech Demo launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 369 km and 379 km with an inclination of 123.1°. It travels at approximately 27,675 km/h (7.69 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.65 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Spent rocket bodies like FIREFLY ALPHA 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.

FIREFLY ALPHA R/B orbits at an average altitude of 374 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 FIREFLY ALPHA R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1,354 active payloads and 59 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 7.7% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 123.1°, FIREFLY ALPHA R/B passes over latitudes between 123.1°N and 123.1°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. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total, of which 1,228 share a similar altitude band with FIREFLY ALPHA R/B.