TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB *

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB * is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1968-09-26 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the OV2-5 launch. After more than 58 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 31,872 km and 39,025 km with an inclination of 5.5°. It travels at approximately 11,114 km/h (3.09 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 39 minutes — that’s roughly 1.01 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. As orbital debris, TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE 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.

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB * orbits at an average altitude of 35,449 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 TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB *’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 20 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 5.5°, TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB * passes over latitudes between 5.5°N and 5.5°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total.