ATLAS 41E DEB

ATLAS 41E DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1985-03-13 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the Geosat launch. With over 41 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 624 km and 643 km with an inclination of 108.2°. It travels at approximately 27,157 km/h (7.54 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.79 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. As orbital debris, ATLAS 41E 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.

ATLAS 41E DEB orbits at an average altitude of 634 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of ATLAS 41E DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 776 active payloads and 871 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050. With an inclination of 108.2°, ATLAS 41E DEB passes over latitudes between 108.2°N and 108.2°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 12,358 active satellites in total, of which 335 share a similar altitude band with ATLAS 41E DEB.