SL-14 DEB

SL-14 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1991-08-15 from PKMTR on the Meteor-3 No. 5/TOMS launch. With over 35 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 529 km and 537 km with an inclination of 97.8°. It travels at approximately 27,354 km/h (7.60 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 13.48 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. 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 ~3–10 years. As orbital debris, SL-14 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.

SL-14 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 533 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 SL-14 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 6,680 active payloads and 306 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, STARLINK-1451. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 38.2% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.8°, SL-14 DEB passes over latitudes between 97.8°N and 97.8°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. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 59 share a similar altitude band with SL-14 DEB.