CZ-4B DEB

CZ-4B DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to China, launched on 2017-06-15 from Jiuquan, China on the HXMT launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 480 km and 638 km with an inclination of 43.1°. It travels at approximately 27,303 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 15.03 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. As orbital debris, CZ-4B 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-4B DEB orbits at an average altitude of 559 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of CZ-4B DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 3,239 active payloads and 412 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 18.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 43.1°, CZ-4B DEB passes over latitudes between 43.1°N and 43.1°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 148 share a similar altitude band with CZ-4B DEB.