CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry no.
2026-0294
IRIDIUM 51
IRIDIUM 51 (NORAD 25262) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 14 March 2026 over Asia, after 27 years, 11 months in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
25262
International designator
1998-018A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
25 Mar 1998Taiyuan
Re-entered (UTC)
14 Mar 2026Recorded time 10:57 UTC
Time in orbit
27 years, 11 months10,216 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
86.3°N to 86.3°SFinal inclination 86.3°
Mass
667 kg
Operator
Built by
Motorola
Bus
LM700
Programme
Iridium
Where it came down
Recorded positionRecorded position 36.0°N, 119.0°E at 10:57 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 86.3°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 86.3°N and 86.3°S.
Life in orbit
27 years, 11 monthsIRIDIUM 51’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 14 Mar 2026
2 entriesFrom the same launch
1998-018
Entered in the Orbital Register™ on 7 November 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2026-0294
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2026-0294
© 2026 Orbital Radar. Cite this entry by its number; the register itself may not be copied.