CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2024-0751
SL-6 R/B(2)
SL-6 R/B(2) (NORAD 12159) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 24 May 2024 over the Indian Ocean, after 43 years, 3 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
12159
International designator
1981-009D
Object type
Rocket body
Country
USSR
Launched
30 Jan 1981Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Re-entered (UTC)
24 May 2024Recorded time 20:14 UTC
Time in orbit
43 years, 3 months15,820 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
62.0°N to 62.0°SFinal inclination 62.0°
Mass
4,500 kg
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 55.0°S, 143.0°E at 20:14 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 62.0°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 62.0°N and 62.0°S.
Life in orbit
43 years, 3 monthsSL-6 R/B(2)’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 24 May 2024
8 entriesFrom the same launch
1981-009
Entered in the Orbital Register™, founding volume, September 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2024-0751
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2024-0751
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.