CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Orbital Register seal
Entry no.
1996-0211

ORFEUS SPAS

ORFEUS SPAS (NORAD 24661) was returned to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle on 7 December 1996, after 18 days in orbit.

Official date
NORAD number
24661
International designator
1996-065B
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
Germany
Launched
19 Nov 1996Cape Canaveral
Landed (UTC)
7 Dec 1996UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
18 days18 days
How it ended
Returned to Earth aboard the Space Shuttle (retrieved)
Latitude range
28.5°N to 28.5°SFinal inclination 28.5°
Mass
3,572 kg
Operator
DLR
Built by
DASA-O
Bus
SPAS
Programme
ASTRO-SPAS

Where it came down

Latitude band its orbit allowed
Exact position not recorded

No position was recorded for this re-entry. Its final orbit, inclined at 28.5°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 28.5°N and 28.5°S.

Life in orbit

18 days

Also ended on 7 Dec 1996

2 entries
1996-0210STS 801996-0212WSF 3

From the same launch

1996-065
1996-0210STS 801996-0212WSF 3
Orbital Register seal
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1996-0211
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.