PEGASUS R/B

PEGASUS R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2000-06-07 from WRAS on the TSX-5 launch. With over 26 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 407 km and 1,251 km with an inclination of 68.9°. It travels at approximately 26,786 km/h (7.44 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.19 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like PEGASUS 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.

PEGASUS R/B orbits at an average altitude of 829 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 PEGASUS R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 280 active payloads and 2,216 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 68.9°, PEGASUS R/B passes over latitudes between 68.9°N and 68.9°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total, of which 56 share a similar altitude band with PEGASUS R/B.