CZ-4 DEB

CZ-4 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 1999-10-14 from Taiyuan, China on the ZY-1/CBERS 1 launch. With over 27 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 705 km and 1,321 km with an inclination of 99.0°. It travels at approximately 26,450 km/h (7.35 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.66 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, CZ-4 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.

CZ-4 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,013 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 CZ-4 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 192 active payloads and 777 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 99.0°, CZ-4 DEB passes over latitudes between 99.0°N and 99.0°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. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 20 share a similar altitude band with CZ-4 DEB.