THOR ABLESTAR DEB

THOR ABLESTAR DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1965-06-24 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the NNS O-4 launch. After more than 61 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 945 km and 1,030 km with an inclination of 89.9°. It travels at approximately 26,496 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.73 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, THOR ABLESTAR 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.

THOR ABLESTAR DEB orbits at an average altitude of 988 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 THOR ABLESTAR DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 358 active payloads and 1,126 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 89.9°, THOR ABLESTAR DEB passes over latitudes between 89.9°N and 89.9°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 13,198 active satellites in total, of which 123 share a similar altitude band with THOR ABLESTAR DEB.