P/L 153 DEB

P/L 153 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1967-05-31 from Vandenberg SFB, California. After more than 59 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 813 km and 818 km with an inclination of 70.0°. It travels at approximately 26,811 km/h (7.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.23 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 ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, P/L 153 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.

P/L 153 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 816 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 P/L 153 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 397 active payloads and 2,296 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 70.0°, P/L 153 DEB passes over latitudes between 70.0°N and 70.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,259 active satellites in total, of which 138 share a similar altitude band with P/L 153 DEB.