SL-12 DEB

SL-12 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1987-04-24 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Uragan No. 30L launch. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 714 km and 2,077 km with an inclination of 64.7°. It travels at approximately 25,790 km/h (7.16 km/s), completing one full orbit every 114 minutes — that’s roughly 12.67 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. As orbital debris, SL-12 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.

SL-12 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,396 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 SL-12 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 229 active payloads and 150 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 64.7°, SL-12 DEB passes over latitudes between 64.7°N and 64.7°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,290 active satellites in total, of which 195 share a similar altitude band with SL-12 DEB.