SL-12 R/B(2)

SL-12 R/B(2) is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 1993-09-30 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Gran' No. 41L launch. With over 33 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,743 km and 35,817 km with an inclination of 13.9°. It travels at approximately 11,071 km/h (3.08 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like SL-12 R/B(2) are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

SL-12 R/B(2) occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 13.9°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of SL-12 R/B(2)’s average altitude, there are currently 705 active payloads and 60 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ASTRA 1N, GOES 16, TDRS 13. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 124 share a similar altitude band with SL-12 R/B(2).