ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B

ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2026-03-20 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, New Zealand on the StriX-6 launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 300 km and 405 km with an inclination of 50.3°. It travels at approximately 27,719 km/h (7.70 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.72 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Spent rocket bodies like ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B are among the largest pieces of uncontrolled space debris and are priority targets for collision avoidance manoeuvres and future active debris removal efforts.

ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B orbits at an average altitude of 353 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1,034 active payloads and 39 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 5.5% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 50.3°, ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B passes over latitudes between 50.3°N and 50.3°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 13,200 active satellites in total, of which 954 share a similar altitude band with ELECTRON KICK STAGE R/B.