THORAD AGENA D DEB

THORAD AGENA D DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1970-04-08 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Nimbus D launch. After more than 56 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 949 km and 1,025 km with an inclination of 99.9°. It travels at approximately 26,497 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.73 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 ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, THORAD AGENA D 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.

THORAD AGENA D DEB orbits at an average altitude of 987 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 THORAD AGENA D DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 358 active payloads and 1,120 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 99.9°, THORAD AGENA D DEB passes over latitudes between 99.9°N and 99.9°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. United States operates approximately 13,204 active satellites in total, of which 123 share a similar altitude band with THORAD AGENA D DEB.