TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1969-02-09 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the Tacsat launch. After more than 57 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 36,095 km and 37,280 km with an inclination of 1.3°. It travels at approximately 10,953 km/h (3.04 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.7 hours — that’s roughly 0.97 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. As orbital debris, TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE 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.

TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 1.3°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of TITAN 3C TRANSTAGE DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 6 active payloads and 3 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total.