FALCON 9 DEB

FALCON 9 DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 2022-06-19 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the Globalstar FM15 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 450 km and 459 km with an inclination of 53.0°. It travels at approximately 27,511 km/h (7.64 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.37 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. As orbital debris, FALCON 9 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.

FALCON 9 DEB orbits at an average altitude of 455 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of FALCON 9 DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 7,856 active payloads and 164 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 45.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 53.0°, FALCON 9 DEB passes over latitudes between 53.0°N and 53.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,358 active satellites in total, of which 7,403 share a similar altitude band with FALCON 9 DEB.