IRS P2 R/B

IRS P2 R/B is a spent rocket body associated with India, launched on 1994-10-15 from SRI on the IRS-P2 launch. With over 32 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 794 km and 875 km with an inclination of 98.8°. It travels at approximately 26,776 km/h (7.44 km/s), completing one full orbit every 102 minutes — that’s roughly 14.17 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like IRS P2 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.

IRS P2 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 835 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of IRS P2 R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 263 active payloads and 2,202 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 98.8°, IRS P2 R/B passes over latitudes between 98.8°N and 98.8°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. India operates approximately 108 active satellites in total, of which 8 share a similar altitude band with IRS P2 R/B.