PAGEOS 1 DEB

PAGEOS 1 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1966-06-24 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Pageos A 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 4,223 km and 4,259 km with an inclination of 87.0°. It travels at approximately 22,063 km/h (6.13 km/s), completing one full orbit every 3 hours 2 minutes — that’s roughly 7.93 orbits per day. As orbital debris, PAGEOS 1 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.

PAGEOS 1 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 4,241 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 PAGEOS 1 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 0 active payloads 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 87.0°, PAGEOS 1 DEB passes over latitudes between 87.0°N and 87.0°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 13,199 active satellites in total.