IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 is space debris in LEO originally from a launch on Sun, 14 Sep 1997 UTC launched from the Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR). The debris from Iridium 33, an American commercial communications satellite, has been tracked extensively since its accidental collision with the defunct Russian satellite Cosmos 2251 in 2009. This event, occurring at high speed in low Earth orbit (LEO), generated thousands of pieces of space debris, significantly increasing the risk of further collisions. The Iridium 33 debris cloud has impacted space traffic management and orbital debris mitigation strategies, making it a subject of ongoing study in space situational awareness.

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Identifier

33966, 1997-051CB

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

Iridium Communications Inc. (US)

Manufacturer

Unknown

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

Unknown

Mass

Unknown

Launch date (UTC)

1997-09-14 (28 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown shape, 0.2 m

Radar Cross Section

Small (<0.1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 8 hours ago

TLE from 8 hours ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 33966U 97051CB  25348.91669899  .00001770  00000-0  45592-3 0  9991
2 33966  86.3927  45.0932 0007688 180.8005 357.2153 14.49603787884733

Epoch: 2025-12-14T22:00Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-14T22:00:02.792Z)

Latitude

1.87609°

Longitude

171.14114°

Altitude

724.334 km

Speed

7.496 km/s

True Right ascension

14h 59m 54s

True Declination

1° 51' 53"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

Unknown

Longitude

Unknown

Altitude

Unknown

Speed

Unknown

Apparent Right ascension

Unknown

Apparent Declination

Unknown

Sunlit

N/A

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

04:14:35

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

729.346 km

Perigee altitude

718.426 km

Semi-major axis

7,102.023 km

Eccentricity

0.00077

Inclination

86.3927°

RAAN

45.0932°

Arg. of periapsis

180.8005°

True anomaly

357.21102°

Mean anomaly

357.2153°

Eccentric anomaly

357.21316°

Mean motion

3.62635 °/min

Orbital period

99.27 mins

BSTAR

0.00045592

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Other satellites on launch #51 in the year 1997 (1997-09-14 UTC)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36642 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35732 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34379 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33965 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 30, 24949 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38470 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34075 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35483 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 28, 24948

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34652

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38241

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34159

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36012

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38028

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34651

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IRIDIUM 33 DEB Visibility forecast

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Span	Click to sort rows by Start time (UTC) header in descending order	Start Az.	Max El. time (UTC)	Max El. Az.	Max El.	End time (UTC)	End Az.
4 mins	2025-12-15 05:38:31.137Z	267.636° W	2025-12-15 05:39:31.137Z	284.683° WNW	19.934°	2025-12-15 05:42:31.137Z	326.366° NNW
8 mins	2025-12-15 15:59:31.137Z	2.153° NNE	2025-12-15 16:02:31.137Z	34.148° NE	43.397°	2025-12-15 16:07:31.137Z	173.93° S
7 mins	2025-12-16 04:47:31.137Z	203.244° SW	2025-12-16 04:50:31.137Z	268.458° W	39.647°	2025-12-16 04:54:31.137Z	350.401° N

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Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings

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Check out IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on Gunter's Space Page

Satcat and Kayhan Space are not affiliated with NASA, Celestrak, Heavens-Above, Keep Track, or Gunter's Space Page.

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 8 hours ago

TLE from 8 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-14T22:00:02.792Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #51 in the year 1997 (1997-09-14 UTC)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33966 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 8 hours ago