MIDAS 4 DEB

MIDAS 4 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1961-10-21 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States. After more than 65 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 3,186 km and 4,028 km with an inclination of 95.8°. It travels at approximately 22,754 km/h (6.32 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 45 minutes — that’s roughly 8.70 orbits per day. As orbital debris, MIDAS 4 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.

MIDAS 4 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 3,607 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of MIDAS 4 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 5 active payloads and 25 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 95.8°, MIDAS 4 DEB passes over latitudes between 95.8°N and 95.8°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 13,350 active satellites in total, of which 5 share a similar altitude band with MIDAS 4 DEB.