CZ-3A DEB

CZ-3A DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 2007-02-02 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China on the di si ke beidou daohang launch. After 19 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 375 km and 39,465 km with an inclination of 26.5°. It travels at approximately 14,017 km/h (3.89 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 47 minutes — that’s roughly 2.04 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7434 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. As orbital debris, CZ-3A 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.

CZ-3A DEB orbits at an average altitude of 19,920 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of CZ-3A DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 5 active payloads and 30 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 26.5°, CZ-3A DEB passes over latitudes between 26.5°N and 26.5°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. China operates approximately 1,340 active satellites in total.