ATLAS F DEB

ATLAS F DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1978-05-13 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Navstar GPS SVN 2 launch. With over 48 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 485 km and 1,844 km with an inclination of 63.6°. It travels at approximately 26,183 km/h (7.27 km/s), completing one full orbit every 109 minutes — that’s roughly 13.26 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, ATLAS F 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.

ATLAS F DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,165 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 ATLAS F DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 758 active payloads and 356 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 63.6°, ATLAS F DEB passes over latitudes between 63.6°N and 63.6°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 13,199 active satellites in total, of which 14 share a similar altitude band with ATLAS F DEB.