THOR BURNER 2A R/B

THOR BURNER 2A R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1974-03-16 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the DMSP Block 5B F-5 launch. After more than 52 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 758 km and 850 km with an inclination of 99.1°. It travels at approximately 26,832 km/h (7.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.26 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 ~100–500 years. Spent rocket bodies like THOR BURNER 2A 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.

THOR BURNER 2A R/B orbits at an average altitude of 804 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 THOR BURNER 2A R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 468 active payloads and 2,496 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 99.1°, THOR BURNER 2A R/B passes over latitudes between 99.1°N and 99.1°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 13,206 active satellites in total, of which 182 share a similar altitude band with THOR BURNER 2A R/B.