CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2018-0183
IRIDIUM 53
IRIDIUM 53 (NORAD 25173) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 30 September 2018 over the South Pacific Ocean, after 20 years, 7 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
25173
International designator
1998-010E
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
18 Feb 1998Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
30 Sep 2018Recorded time 14:07 UTC
Time in orbit
20 years, 7 months7,529 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
86.8°N to 86.8°SFinal inclination 86.8°
Mass
662 kg
Operator
Built by
Motorola / LMMS/Sunnyvale
Bus
LM700
Programme
Iridium
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 55.0°S, 73.0°W at 14:07 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 86.8°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 86.8°N and 86.8°S.
Life in orbit
20 years, 7 monthsIRIDIUM 53’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
From the same launch
1998-010
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0183
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2018-0183
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.