INTELSAT 33E DEB

INTELSAT 33E DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to ITSO, launched on 2016-08-24 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou. After 10 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 27,856 km and 42,098 km with an inclination of 2.7°. It travels at approximately 11,177 km/h (3.10 km/s), completing one full orbit every 23 hours 15 minutes — that’s roughly 1.03 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1722 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. It is part of the Intelsat constellation group. As orbital debris, INTELSAT 33E 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.

INTELSAT 33E DEB orbits at an average altitude of 34,977 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 INTELSAT 33E DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 0 active payloads and 12 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 2.7°, INTELSAT 33E DEB passes over latitudes between 2.7°N and 2.7°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. ITSO operates approximately 72 active satellites in total.