CERTIFICATE OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
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Entry no.
2026-0331

ZY 3

ZY 3 (NORAD 38046) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 22 March 2026 over the Southern Ocean, after 14 years, 2 months in orbit.

Official date
NORAD number
38046
International designator
2012-001A
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
China
Launched
9 Jan 2012Taiyuan
Re-entered (UTC)
22 Mar 2026Recorded time 04:25 UTC
Time in orbit
14 years, 2 months5,186 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
82.9°N to 82.9°SFinal inclination 97.1°
Mass
2,650 kg
Operator
G. Cehui dili / CRESDA
Built by
CAST
Bus
ZY
Programme
ZY3

Where it came down

Recorded position

Recorded position 73.0°S, 64.0°W at 04:25 UTC. Its final orbit, inclined at 97.1°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 82.9°N and 82.9°S.

Life in orbit

14 years, 2 months

ZY 3’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.

Also ended on 22 Mar 2026

6 entries
2026-0332STARLINK-14842026-0333STARLINK-15872026-0334STARLINK-62012026-0329FENGYUN 1C DEB2026-0330CZ-2D DEB2026-0335JIELONG 3 DEB

From the same launch

2012-001
2012-0090CZ-4B R/B2016-0238VESSELSAT 2
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Entered in the Orbital Register™ on 7 November 2026.
Record version 1 · No corrections · orbitalradar.com/register/2026-0331
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