THORAD AGENA D R/B

THORAD AGENA D R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1969-09-30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the P-11 No. 4407 launch. After more than 57 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 904 km and 1,075 km with an inclination of 70.0°. It travels at approximately 26,492 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.73 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like THORAD AGENA D R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

THORAD AGENA D R/B orbits at an average altitude of 990 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of THORAD AGENA D R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 358 active payloads and 1,106 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 70.0°, THORAD AGENA D R/B passes over latitudes between 70.0°N and 70.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 13,206 active satellites in total, of which 123 share a similar altitude band with THORAD AGENA D R/B.