BLITS DEB

BLITS DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2009-09-17 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the Soyuz Rideshare 1 launch. After 17 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 814 km and 819 km with an inclination of 98.8°. It travels at approximately 26,809 km/h (7.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.23 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. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, BLITS 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.

BLITS DEB orbits at an average altitude of 817 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 BLITS DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 403 active payloads and 2,277 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 98.8°, BLITS DEB passes over latitudes between 98.8°N and 98.8°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. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 81 share a similar altitude band with BLITS DEB.