ZQ-2E R/B

ZQ-2E R/B is a spent rocket body associated with China, launched on 2026-06-09 from Jiuquan, China on the Qianfan DTC1 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 325 km and 410 km with an inclination of 54.5°. It travels at approximately 27,688 km/h (7.69 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.67 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Spent rocket bodies like ZQ-2E 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.

ZQ-2E R/B orbits at an average altitude of 368 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 ZQ-2E R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 1,130 active payloads and 55 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 6.4% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 54.5°, ZQ-2E R/B passes over latitudes between 54.5°N and 54.5°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. China operates approximately 1,247 active satellites in total, of which 25 share a similar altitude band with ZQ-2E R/B.