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 604 km and 617 km with an inclination of 86.3°. It travels at approximately 27,202 km/h (7.56 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.86 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 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 611 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of IRIDIUM 33 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 1,599 active payloads and 714 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 9.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 86.3°, IRIDIUM 33 DEB passes over latitudes between 86.3°N and 86.3°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 1,089 share a similar altitude band with IRIDIUM 33 DEB.