SCOUT B DEB

SCOUT B DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1965-08-10 from Wallops Island, Virginia on the Secor Type I S/N 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 1,150 km and 1,720 km with an inclination of 69.3°. It travels at approximately 25,725 km/h (7.15 km/s), completing one full orbit every 115 minutes — that’s roughly 12.57 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. As orbital debris, SCOUT B 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.

SCOUT B DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,435 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of SCOUT B DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 357 active payloads and 178 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 69.3°, SCOUT B DEB passes over latitudes between 69.3°N and 69.3°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total.