CZ-12 R/B

CZ-12 R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2026-01-19 from Wenchang, China on the WHDW 19 launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 795 km and 894 km with an inclination of 50.0°. It travels at approximately 26,757 km/h (7.43 km/s), completing one full orbit every 102 minutes — that’s roughly 14.14 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like CZ-12 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.

CZ-12 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 845 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of CZ-12 R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 233 active payloads and 2,124 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 50.0°, CZ-12 R/B passes over latitudes between 50.0°N and 50.0°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total, of which 102 share a similar altitude band with CZ-12 R/B.