CZ-2D R/B

CZ-2D R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2026-03-12 from Xichang, China on the Shiyan 30-03/04 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 569 km and 591 km with an inclination of 35.1°. It travels at approximately 27,261 km/h (7.57 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.96 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Spent rocket bodies like CZ-2D 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-2D R/B orbits at an average altitude of 580 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 CZ-2D R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 3,131 active payloads and 542 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 17.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 35.1°, CZ-2D R/B passes over latitudes between 35.1°N and 35.1°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 184 share a similar altitude band with CZ-2D R/B.