THOR ABLESTAR DEB

THOR ABLESTAR DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1963-12-05 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Transit VBN-2 launch. After more than 63 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 959 km and 999 km with an inclination of 89.9°. It travels at approximately 26,511 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.76 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. As orbital debris, THOR ABLESTAR 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.

THOR ABLESTAR DEB orbits at an average altitude of 979 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of THOR ABLESTAR DEB’s average altitude, there are currently 368 active payloads and 1,175 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 89.9°, THOR ABLESTAR DEB passes over latitudes between 89.9°N and 89.9°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 13,198 active satellites in total, of which 129 share a similar altitude band with THOR ABLESTAR DEB.