THORAD AGENA D DEB

THORAD AGENA D DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1970-04-08 from Vandenberg SFB, California. After more than 56 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,064 km and 1,066 km with an inclination of 100.2°. It travels at approximately 26,357 km/h (7.32 km/s), completing one full orbit every 107 minutes — that’s roughly 13.52 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, THORAD AGENA D DEB poses a potential collision risk to operational satellites in nearby orbits and is continuously monitored by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network and other tracking systems.

THORAD AGENA D DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,065 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of THORAD AGENA D DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 187 active payloads and 428 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 100.2°, THORAD AGENA D DEB passes over latitudes between 100.2°N and 100.2°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. United States operates approximately 12,262 active satellites in total, of which 14 share a similar altitude band with THORAD AGENA D DEB.