BREEZE-M R/B

BREEZE-M R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2023-03-12 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Olimp-K No. 13L launch. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,869 km and 36,446 km with an inclination of 2.9°. It travels at approximately 11,021 km/h (3.06 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.3 hours — that’s roughly 0.99 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like BREEZE-M 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.

BREEZE-M R/B occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 2.9°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of BREEZE-M R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 169 active payloads and 9 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 9 share a similar altitude band with BREEZE-M R/B.