FREGAT R/B

FREGAT R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2026-07-19 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Rassvet-3 G2 launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 237 km and 259 km with an inclination of 82.3°. It travels at approximately 27,937 km/h (7.76 km/s), completing one full orbit every 89 minutes — that’s roughly 16.11 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is weeks to months. Spent rocket bodies like FREGAT R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

FREGAT R/B orbits at an average altitude of 248 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of FREGAT R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 77 active payloads and 7 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1067, STARLINK-1068, STARLINK-1171. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 82.3°, FREGAT R/B passes over latitudes between 82.3°N and 82.3°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,272 active satellites in total, of which 10 share a similar altitude band with FREGAT R/B.