ATLAS AGENA B DEB

ATLAS AGENA B DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1963-07-19 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Midas ETS-III F4 launch. After more than 63 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 3,560 km and 3,875 km with an inclination of 88.5°. It travels at approximately 22,629 km/h (6.29 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 48 minutes — that’s roughly 8.56 orbits per day. As orbital debris, ATLAS AGENA B 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.

ATLAS AGENA B DEB orbits at an average altitude of 3,718 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 ATLAS AGENA B DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 6 active payloads and 2 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 88.5°, ATLAS AGENA B DEB passes over latitudes between 88.5°N and 88.5°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 13,196 active satellites in total, of which 6 share a similar altitude band with ATLAS AGENA B DEB.