CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
1997-0081
ATLAS 2A CENTAUR R/B
ATLAS 2A CENTAUR R/B (NORAD 24316) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 17 March 1997, after 6 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
24316
International designator
1996-054B
Object type
Rocket body
Country
United States
Launched
8 Sep 1996Cape Canaveral
Re-entered (UTC)
17 Mar 1997UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
6 months190 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
25.2°N to 25.2°SFinal inclination 25.2°
Mass
2,095 kg
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 25.2°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 25.2°N and 25.2°S.
Life in orbit
6 monthsATLAS 2A CENTAUR R/B’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 17 Mar 1997
1 entry
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1997-0081
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/1997-0081
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.