ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ)

ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ) is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to United States, launched on 1964-01-25 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Echo C launch. After more than 62 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 1,027 km and 1,290 km with an inclination of 81.5°. It travels at approximately 26,193 km/h (7.28 km/s), completing one full orbit every 109 minutes — that’s roughly 13.27 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. As orbital debris, ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ) 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.

ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ) orbits at an average altitude of 1,159 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 ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ)’s average altitude, there are currently 656 active payloads and 366 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 81.5°, ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ) passes over latitudes between 81.5°N and 81.5°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 13,196 active satellites in total, of which 14 share a similar altitude band with ECHO 2 DEB (METAL OBJ).