CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2012-0066
ARIANE 44L R/B
ARIANE 44L R/B (NORAD 24770) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 22 February 2012 over South America, after 14 years, 10 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
24770
International designator
1997-016C
Object type
Rocket body
Country
France
Launched
16 Apr 1997Guiana Space Centre
Re-entered (UTC)
22 Feb 2012Recorded time 09:09 UTC
Time in orbit
14 years, 10 months5,425 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
6.5°N to 6.5°SFinal inclination 6.5°
Mass
2,260 kg
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 4.0°S, 43.0°W at 09:09 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 6.5°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 6.5°N and 6.5°S.
Life in orbit
14 years, 10 monthsARIANE 44L R/B’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 22 Feb 2012
1 entry
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2012-0066
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2012-0066
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.