TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1965-10-15 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the LCS 2 launch. After more than 61 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 653 km and 812 km with an inclination of 31.6°. It travels at approximately 26,967 km/h (7.49 km/s), completing one full orbit every 99 minutes — that’s roughly 14.48 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~25–100 years. As orbital debris, TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE 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.

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB orbits at an average altitude of 733 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 359 active payloads and 1,842 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include TERRA, AQUA, LANDSAT 9. With an inclination of 31.6°, TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB passes over latitudes between 31.6°N and 31.6°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total, of which 142 share a similar altitude band with TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB.