CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1978-0233
EXPLORER 46 DEB
EXPLORER 46 DEB (NORAD 6146) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 25 May 1978.
Official dateFragment record
NORAD number
6146
International designator
1972-061C
Object type
Fragment
Country
United States
Parent launched
13 Aug 1972Wallops
Re-entered (UTC)
25 May 1978UTC calendar day
Time since launch
5 years, 9 months2,111 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
37.7°N to 37.7°SFinal inclination 37.7°
Where it came down
Latitude band its orbit allowedExact position not recorded
No position was recorded for this re-entry. Its final orbit, inclined at 37.7°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 37.7°N and 37.7°S.
Life in orbit
EXPLORER 46 DEB’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
From the same launch
1972-061
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1978-0233
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1978-0233
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.