ELECTRON R/B

ELECTRON R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 2026-06-19 from RLLC on the VICTUS HAZE Puma 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 173 km and 432 km with an inclination of 97.4°. It travels at approximately 27,822 km/h (7.73 km/s), completing one full orbit every 91 minutes — that’s roughly 15.97 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Spent rocket bodies like ELECTRON 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 R/B orbits at an average altitude of 303 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of ELECTRON R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 378 active payloads and 13 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1067, STARLINK-1068, STARLINK-1171. With an inclination of 97.4°, ELECTRON R/B passes over latitudes between 97.4°N and 97.4°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 12,359 active satellites in total, of which 334 share a similar altitude band with ELECTRON R/B.