YAOGAN 11 DEB

YAOGAN 11 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 2010-09-22 from Jiuquan, China. After 16 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 627 km and 882 km with an inclination of 97.9°. It travels at approximately 26,925 km/h (7.48 km/s), completing one full orbit every 100 minutes — that’s roughly 14.41 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~25–100 years. As orbital debris, YAOGAN 11 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.

YAOGAN 11 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 755 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of YAOGAN 11 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 355 active payloads and 1,987 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 97.9°, YAOGAN 11 DEB passes over latitudes between 97.9°N and 97.9°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. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 51 share a similar altitude band with YAOGAN 11 DEB.