DELTA 1 DEB *

DELTA 1 DEB * is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1977-12-15 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the CS launch. With over 49 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 534 km and 1,755 km with an inclination of 29.1°. It travels at approximately 26,218 km/h (7.28 km/s), completing one full orbit every 108 minutes — that’s roughly 13.31 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, DELTA 1 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.

DELTA 1 DEB * orbits at an average altitude of 1,145 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 DELTA 1 DEB *’s average altitude, there are currently 458 active payloads and 305 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0027, ONEWEB-0094, ONEWEB-0250. With an inclination of 29.1°, DELTA 1 DEB * passes over latitudes between 29.1°N and 29.1°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total, of which 9 share a similar altitude band with DELTA 1 DEB *.