FREGAT DEB

FREGAT DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2011-07-18 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan on the RadioAstron launch. After 15 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 686 km and 1,713 km with an inclination of 51.5°. It travels at approximately 26,122 km/h (7.26 km/s), completing one full orbit every 109 minutes — that’s roughly 13.16 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, FREGAT 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.

FREGAT DEB orbits at an average altitude of 1,200 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 FREGAT DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 735 active payloads and 205 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 51.5°, FREGAT DEB passes over latitudes between 51.5°N and 51.5°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 8 share a similar altitude band with FREGAT DEB.