AVUM R/B

AVUM R/B is a spent rocket body associated with France, launched on 2022-07-13 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou on the LARES 2 launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 5,832 km and 5,854 km with an inclination of 70.1°. It travels at approximately 20,566 km/h (5.71 km/s), completing one full orbit every 3 hours 44 minutes — that’s roughly 6.43 orbits per day. Spent rocket bodies like AVUM 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.

AVUM R/B orbits at an average altitude of 5,843 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 AVUM R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 3 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 70.1°, AVUM R/B passes over latitudes between 70.1°N and 70.1°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. France operates approximately 115 active satellites in total.