PEGASUS DEB

PEGASUS DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1994-05-19 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the STEP 2 launch. With over 32 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 562 km and 1,654 km with an inclination of 81.5°. It travels at approximately 26,281 km/h (7.30 km/s), completing one full orbit every 107 minutes — that’s roughly 13.40 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, PEGASUS 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.

PEGASUS DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,108 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 PEGASUS DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 279 active payloads and 367 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 81.5°, PEGASUS DEB passes over latitudes between 81.5°N and 81.5°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 13 share a similar altitude band with PEGASUS DEB.