IRIDIUM 33 DEB

IRIDIUM 33 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1997-09-14 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Iridium SV029 launch. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 717 km and 969 km with an inclination of 86.4°. It travels at approximately 26,760 km/h (7.43 km/s), completing one full orbit every 102 minutes — that’s roughly 14.15 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, IRIDIUM 33 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.

IRIDIUM 33 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 843 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 IRIDIUM 33 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 238 active payloads and 2,143 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 86.4°, IRIDIUM 33 DEB passes over latitudes between 86.4°N and 86.4°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 47 share a similar altitude band with IRIDIUM 33 DEB.