SCOUT D-1 DEB

SCOUT D-1 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1977-10-28 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 49 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,060 km and 1,090 km with an inclination of 89.5°. It travels at approximately 26,340 km/h (7.32 km/s), completing one full orbit every 107 minutes — that’s roughly 13.49 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, SCOUT D-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.

SCOUT D-1 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,075 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 SCOUT D-1 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 188 active payloads and 417 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 89.5°, SCOUT D-1 DEB passes over latitudes between 89.5°N and 89.5°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 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 15 share a similar altitude band with SCOUT D-1 DEB.