OSCAR 30 DEB

OSCAR 30 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1985-08-03 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the NNS O-24 launch. With over 41 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 957 km and 1,174 km with an inclination of 90.2°. It travels at approximately 26,356 km/h (7.32 km/s), completing one full orbit every 107 minutes — that’s roughly 13.52 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, OSCAR 30 DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

OSCAR 30 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,066 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 OSCAR 30 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 187 active payloads and 437 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 90.2°, OSCAR 30 DEB passes over latitudes between 90.2°N and 90.2°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 14 share a similar altitude band with OSCAR 30 DEB.