CZ-7A R/B

CZ-7A R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2026-05-26 from Wenchang, China on the TJS-24 launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 122 km and 33,211 km with an inclination of 19.6°. It travels at approximately 14,975 km/h (4.16 km/s), completing one full orbit every 9 hours 40 minutes — that’s roughly 2.48 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7182 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Spent rocket bodies like CZ-7A 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-7A R/B orbits at an average altitude of 16,667 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. With an inclination of 19.6°, CZ-7A R/B passes over latitudes between 19.6°N and 19.6°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total.