CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2018-0161
IRIDIUM 98
IRIDIUM 98 (NORAD 27451) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 24 August 2018 over the western Pacific Ocean, after 16 years, 2 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
27451
International designator
2002-031B
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
20 Jun 2002Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Re-entered (UTC)
24 Aug 2018Recorded time 06:38 UTC
Time in orbit
16 years, 2 months5,909 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
86.3°N to 86.3°SFinal inclination 86.3°
Mass
655 kg
Operator
Built by
Motorola
Bus
LM700
Programme
Iridium
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 3.0°N, 125.0°E at 06:38 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 86.3°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 86.3°N and 86.3°S.
Life in orbit
16 years, 2 monthsIRIDIUM 98’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
From the same launch
2002-031
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0161
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0161
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.