METEOR 1-16 DEB

METEOR 1-16 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1974-03-05 from PKMTR on the Meteor-M No. 30 launch. After more than 52 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 722 km and 767 km with an inclination of 81.2°. It travels at approximately 26,944 km/h (7.48 km/s), completing one full orbit every 100 minutes — that’s roughly 14.44 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~25–100 years. As orbital debris, METEOR 1-16 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.

METEOR 1-16 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 745 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of METEOR 1-16 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 373 active payloads and 1,896 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include LANDSAT 9. With an inclination of 81.2°, METEOR 1-16 DEB passes over latitudes between 81.2°N and 81.2°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 47 share a similar altitude band with METEOR 1-16 DEB.