RECORD OF RE-ENTRYOrbital Register™ · by Orbital Radar™
Entry number
Certificate pending
SHIELDS 1
SHIELDS 1 (NORAD 43850) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on 12 February 2026, after 7 years, 1 month in orbit.
Official date
NORAD number
43850
International designator
2018-104B
Object type
Spacecraft
Country
United States
Launched
16 Dec 2018Rocket Lab Launch Complex
Re-entered (UTC)
12 Feb 2026UTC calendar day
Time in orbit
7 years, 1 month2,615 days
How it ended
Re-entered (natural decay)
Latitude range
85.0°N to 85.0°SFinal inclination 85.0°
Mass
7 kg
Operator
NASA LaRC
Built by
NASA LaRC
Bus
Cubesat 3U
Programme
LARC Cube
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 85.0°, allowed a re-entry anywhere between 85.0°N and 85.0°S.
Life in orbit
7 years, 1 monthSHIELDS 1’s lowest and highest points above Earth, week by week, from its tracking history.
Also ended on 12 Feb 2026
7 entriesFrom the same launch
2018-104
Recorded in the Orbital Register™. The certificate and its permanent entry number follow once the record is complete.
orbitalradar.com/register/norad/43850
© 2026 Orbital Radar.
orbitalradar.com/register/norad/43850
© 2026 Orbital Radar.