OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB

OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1969-09-30 from Vandenberg SFB, California 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 893 km and 919 km with an inclination of 70.0°. It travels at approximately 26,644 km/h (7.40 km/s), completing one full orbit every 103 minutes — that’s roughly 13.96 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, OPS 7613 (P/L 5) 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.

OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB orbits at an average altitude of 906 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 OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 211 active payloads and 1,265 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 70.0°, OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB 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 12,358 active satellites in total, of which 69 share a similar altitude band with OPS 7613 (P/L 5) DEB.