BREEZE-M DEB

BREEZE-M DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to Russia (CIS), launched on 2008-01-28 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the Ekspress AM-33 launch. After 18 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 31,554 km and 39,101 km with an inclination of 11.5°. It travels at approximately 11,130 km/h (3.09 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 33 minutes — that’s roughly 1.02 orbits per day. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. As orbital debris, BREEZE-M 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.

BREEZE-M DEB orbits at an average altitude of 35,328 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of BREEZE-M DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 10 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 11.5°, BREEZE-M DEB passes over latitudes between 11.5°N and 11.5°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,514 active satellites in total.