FREGAT R/B

FREGAT R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2026-09-17 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Glonass launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 19,150 km and 19,442 km with an inclination of 64.8°. It travels at approximately 14,187 km/h (3.94 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 22 minutes — that’s roughly 2.11 orbits per day. 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 19,296 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of FREGAT R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 0 active payloads and 9 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 64.8°, FREGAT R/B passes over latitudes between 64.8°N and 64.8°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,536 active satellites in total.