SL-8 DEB

SL-8 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1978-11-16 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Strela-2M launch. With over 48 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 596 km and 602 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 27,224 km/h (7.56 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.90 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 ~3–10 years. As orbital debris, SL-8 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.

SL-8 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 599 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of SL-8 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 1,658 active payloads and 708 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 8.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 74.0°, SL-8 DEB passes over latitudes between 74.0°N and 74.0°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 1,535 active satellites in total, of which 27 share a similar altitude band with SL-8 DEB.