BREEZE-M R/B

BREEZE-M R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Russia (CIS), launched on 2000-06-06 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the Gorizont No. 45L launch. With over 26 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 34,671 km and 36,845 km with an inclination of 13.6°. It travels at approximately 11,073 km/h (3.08 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like BREEZE-M R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

BREEZE-M R/B occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 13.6°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of BREEZE-M R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 706 active payloads and 36 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ASTRA 1N, GOES 16, TDRS 13. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,514 active satellites in total, of which 114 share a similar altitude band with BREEZE-M R/B.