GLOBALSTAR M004 DEB

GLOBALSTAR M004 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1998-02-14 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the Globalstar D-1 launch. With over 28 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,349 km and 1,491 km with an inclination of 52.0°. It travels at approximately 25,750 km/h (7.15 km/s), completing one full orbit every 114 minutes — that’s roughly 12.61 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. As orbital debris, GLOBALSTAR M004 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.

GLOBALSTAR M004 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,420 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of GLOBALSTAR M004 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 308 active payloads and 153 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 52.0°, GLOBALSTAR M004 DEB passes over latitudes between 52.0°N and 52.0°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.