CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2019-0137
IRIDIUM 46
IRIDIUM 46 (NORAD 24905) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 11 May 2019, after 21 years, 8 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
24905
International designator
1997-043C
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
21 Aug 1997Vandenberg
Re-entered (UTC)
11 May 2019UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
21 years, 8 months7,933 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
86.3°N to 86.3°SFinal inclination 86.3°
Mass
662 kg
Operator
Built by
Motorola / LMMS/Sunnyvale
Bus
LM700
Programme
Iridium
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 86.3°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 86.3°N and 86.3°S.
Life in orbit
21 years, 8 monthsIRIDIUM 46’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 11 May 2019
3 entriesFrom the same launch
1997-043
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2019-0137
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2019-0137
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.