CZ-4C DEB

CZ-4C DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 2012-11-25 from Jiuquan, China on the yaogan weixing shiliu ha launch. After 14 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,158 km and 1,420 km with an inclination of 63.4°. It travels at approximately 25,969 km/h (7.21 km/s), completing one full orbit every 111 minutes — that’s roughly 12.93 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. As orbital debris, CZ-4C 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.

CZ-4C DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,289 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 CZ-4C DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 16 active payloads and 281 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 63.4°, CZ-4C DEB passes over latitudes between 63.4°N and 63.4°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total.