SL-14 DEB

SL-14 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 1991-08-15 from PKMTR on the Meteor-3 No. 5/TOMS launch. With over 35 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 653 km and 746 km with an inclination of 82.5°. It travels at approximately 27,030 km/h (7.51 km/s), completing one full orbit every 99 minutes — that’s roughly 14.58 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. As orbital debris, SL-14 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.

SL-14 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 700 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of SL-14 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 270 active payloads and 1,465 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include TERRA, AQUA, LANDSAT 9. With an inclination of 82.5°, SL-14 DEB passes over latitudes between 82.5°N and 82.5°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. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,302 active satellites in total, of which 9 share a similar altitude band with SL-14 DEB.