MINOTAUR 1 R/B

MINOTAUR 1 R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2021-06-15 from Wallops Island, Virginia on the NROL-111 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 569 km and 575 km with an inclination of 55.0°. It travels at approximately 27,277 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.98 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 ~3–10 years. Spent rocket bodies like MINOTAUR 1 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.

MINOTAUR 1 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 572 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of MINOTAUR 1 R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 2,971 active payloads and 500 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-1522, STARLINK-2112. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 17% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 55.0°, MINOTAUR 1 R/B passes over latitudes between 55.0°N and 55.0°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 2,441 share a similar altitude band with MINOTAUR 1 R/B.