THOR AGENA B DEB

THOR AGENA B DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1965-11-29 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Alouette 2 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 474 km and 1,604 km with an inclination of 79.6°. It travels at approximately 26,404 km/h (7.33 km/s), completing one full orbit every 106 minutes — that’s roughly 13.59 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, THOR AGENA B 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 AGENA B DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,039 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 AGENA B DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 323 active payloads and 698 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 79.6°, THOR AGENA B DEB passes over latitudes between 79.6°N and 79.6°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 13,196 active satellites in total, of which 40 share a similar altitude band with THOR AGENA B DEB.