THOR ABLESTAR R/B

THOR ABLESTAR R/B is a spent rocket body associated with United States, launched on 1964-12-13 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the APL SN-43 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 1,016 km and 1,063 km with an inclination of 90.0°. It travels at approximately 26,403 km/h (7.33 km/s), completing one full orbit every 106 minutes — that’s roughly 13.59 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. Spent rocket bodies like THOR ABLESTAR 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 ABLESTAR R/B orbits at an average altitude of 1,040 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 R/B’s average altitude, there are currently 326 active payloads and 691 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0041. With an inclination of 90.0°, THOR ABLESTAR R/B passes over latitudes between 90.0°N and 90.0°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 41 share a similar altitude band with THOR ABLESTAR R/B.