YZ-1 R/B

YZ-1 R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2015-03-30 from Xichang, China on the Beidou I1-S launch. After 11 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 23,707 km and 161,258 km with an inclination of 15.2°. It travels at approximately 7,229 km/h (2.01 km/s), completing one full orbit every 85.9 hours — that’s roughly 0.28 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.6957 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Spent rocket bodies like YZ-1 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.

YZ-1 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 92,483 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. With an inclination of 15.2°, YZ-1 R/B passes over latitudes between 15.2°N and 15.2°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. China operates approximately 1,247 active satellites in total.