PEGASUS DEB

PEGASUS DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1994-05-19 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the STEP 2 launch. With over 32 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 335 km and 377 km with an inclination of 81.9°. It travels at approximately 27,712 km/h (7.70 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.71 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. As orbital debris, PEGASUS 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.

PEGASUS DEB orbits at an average altitude of 356 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of PEGASUS DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 1,164 active payloads and 40 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 5.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 81.9°, PEGASUS DEB passes over latitudes between 81.9°N and 81.9°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. United States operates approximately 13,350 active satellites in total, of which 1,028 share a similar altitude band with PEGASUS DEB.