CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2018-0023
IRIDIUM 49
IRIDIUM 49 (NORAD 25108) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 13 February 2018 over the South Pacific Ocean, after 20 years, 1 month in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
25108
International designator
1997-082E
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
20 Dec 1997Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
13 Feb 2018Recorded time 12:00 UTC
Time in orbit
20 years, 1 month7,360 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
86.4°N to 86.4°SFinal inclination 86.4°
Mass
662 kg
Operator
Built by
Motorola / LMMS/Sunnyvale
Bus
LM700
Programme
Iridium
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 28.0°S, 172.0°W at 12:00 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 86.4°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 86.4°N and 86.4°S.
Life in orbit
20 years, 1 monthIRIDIUM 49’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 13 Feb 2018
1 entryFrom the same launch
1997-082
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0023
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0023
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.