TIROS 2 DEB *

TIROS 2 DEB * is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1960-11-23 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States. After more than 66 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 969 km and 1,029 km with an inclination of 47.0°. It travels at approximately 26,475 km/h (7.35 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.70 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, TIROS 2 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.

TIROS 2 DEB * orbits at an average altitude of 999 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of TIROS 2 DEB *’s average altitude, there are currently 334 active payloads and 1,080 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 47.0°, TIROS 2 DEB * passes over latitudes between 47.0°N and 47.0°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. United States operates approximately 13,342 active satellites in total, of which 79 share a similar altitude band with TIROS 2 DEB *.