SL-14 DEB

SL-14 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1987-08-18 from PKMTR. With over 39 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 802 km and 945 km with an inclination of 82.4°. It travels at approximately 26,703 km/h (7.42 km/s), completing one full orbit every 102 minutes — that’s roughly 14.06 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, SL-14 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-14 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 874 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 SL-14 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 198 active payloads and 1,738 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20. With an inclination of 82.4°, SL-14 DEB passes over latitudes between 82.4°N and 82.4°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. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 41 share a similar altitude band with SL-14 DEB.