SCOUT G-1 DEB

SCOUT G-1 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1988-04-26 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 38 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 981 km and 1,296 km with an inclination of 90.3°. It travels at approximately 26,228 km/h (7.29 km/s), completing one full orbit every 108 minutes — that’s roughly 13.32 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, SCOUT G-1 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 G-1 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,139 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 SCOUT G-1 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 382 active payloads and 326 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0250, ONEWEB-0321, ONEWEB-0334. With an inclination of 90.3°, SCOUT G-1 DEB passes over latitudes between 90.3°N and 90.3°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. United States operates approximately 12,259 active satellites in total, of which 11 share a similar altitude band with SCOUT G-1 DEB.