OPS 0856 DEB

OPS 0856 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1966-08-19 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Midas RTS-I F2 launch. After more than 60 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 1,345 km and 5,376 km with an inclination of 88.4°. It travels at approximately 23,040 km/h (6.40 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 39 minutes — that’s roughly 9.03 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.2071 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. As orbital debris, OPS 0856 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.

OPS 0856 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 3,361 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 OPS 0856 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 4 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 88.4°, OPS 0856 DEB passes over latitudes between 88.4°N and 88.4°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 13,196 active satellites in total.