H-2A R/B

H-2A R/B is a spent rocket body associated with Japan, launched on 2018-10-29 from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan on the GOSAT-2/Khalifasat launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 404 km and 431 km with an inclination of 98.8°. It travels at approximately 27,586 km/h (7.66 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.50 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Spent rocket bodies like H-2A R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

H-2A R/B orbits at an average altitude of 418 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of H-2A R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 5,498 active payloads and 109 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 29.4% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 98.8°, H-2A R/B passes over latitudes between 98.8°N and 98.8°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. Japan operates approximately 208 active satellites in total, of which 6 share a similar altitude band with H-2A R/B.