THOR ABLESTAR DEB

THOR ABLESTAR DEB is a tracked piece of space debris attributed to 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 992 km and 1,025 km with an inclination of 90.0°. It travels at approximately 26,458 km/h (7.35 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.67 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 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 1,009 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 261 active payloads and 1,018 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 90.0°, THOR ABLESTAR DEB 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 13,196 active satellites in total, of which 51 share a similar altitude band with THOR ABLESTAR DEB.