NTS 2 AKM

NTS 2 AKM is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1977-06-23 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the NTS 2 launch. With over 49 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 18,740 km and 20,979 km with an inclination of 62.8°. It travels at approximately 14,034 km/h (3.90 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 45 minutes — that’s roughly 2.04 orbits per day. Spent rocket bodies like NTS 2 AKM are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

NTS 2 AKM orbits at an average altitude of 19,860 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. Within ±50 km of NTS 2 AKM’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 26 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 62.8°, NTS 2 AKM passes over latitudes between 62.8°N and 62.8°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.