OBJECT U

OBJECT U (NORAD ID 59071) is a space object catalogued under Unknown, launched on 2024-02-29 from Vostochny, Russia on the Soyuz Rideshare 12 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 487 km and 685 km with an inclination of 95.4°. It travels at approximately 27,250 km/h (7.57 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.94 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks OBJECT U in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OBJECT U orbits at an average altitude of 586 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 OBJECT U’s average altitude, there are currently 3,192 active payloads and 580 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 18.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 95.4°, OBJECT U passes over latitudes between 95.4°N and 95.4°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.