COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972

Orbit data source: Space-Track

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 is space debris in LEO originally from a launch on Wed, 16 Jun 1993 UTC launched from the Plesetsk Missile And Space Complex (PKMTR). 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

34972, 1993-036AFB

Orbit

LEO

Country

CIS

Related business

Russian Space Forces (RU)

Manufacturer

Unknown

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

Unknown

Mass

Unknown

Launch date (UTC)

1993-06-16 (33 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Plesetsk Missile And Space Complex (PKMTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown shape, 0.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Small (<0.1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

0 COSMOS 2251 DEB
1 34972U 93036AFB 26034.22319683  .00012503  00000-0  18800-2 0  9995
2 34972  73.9886 307.2361 0032116  90.1890  65.6393 14.74179569884230

Epoch: 2026-02-03T05:21Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-03T05:21:24.206Z)

Latitude

22.88298°

Longitude

-93.44064°

Altitude

641.013 km

Speed

7.545 km/s

True Right ascension

08h 01m 16s

True Declination

22° 45' 29"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow 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

22:49:31

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

667.899 km

Perigee altitude

622.786 km

Semi-major axis

7,023.48 km

Eccentricity

0.00321

Inclination

73.9886°

RAAN

307.2361°

Arg. of periapsis

90.189°

True anomaly

65.97511°

Mean anomaly

65.6393°

Eccentric anomaly

65.80715°

Mean motion

3.68735 °/min

Orbital period

97.63 mins

BSTAR

0.00188

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Other satellites on launch #36 in the year 1993 (1993-06-16 UTC)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 35027 (Decayed)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 36043 (Decayed)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 37500 (Decayed)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 39549 (Decayed)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 35438 (Decayed)

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34127

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 37994

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 37988

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 37971

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 38060

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 35975

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34908

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 35786

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34468

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 37532

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You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.

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COSMOS 2251 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.
7 mins	2026-02-04 05:39:48.533Z	329.435° NNW	2026-02-04 05:42:48.533Z	234.188° WSW	41.463°	2026-02-04 05:46:48.533Z	173.806° S
5 mins	2026-02-04 18:15:48.533Z	129.487° SE	2026-02-04 18:17:48.533Z	91.669° ESE	20.898°	2026-02-04 18:20:48.533Z	48.908° ENE
6 mins	2026-02-04 19:53:48.533Z	241.368° WSW	2026-02-04 19:56:48.533Z	298.616° NW	27.232°	2026-02-04 19:59:48.533Z	352.138° 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 COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on other resources

View COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on Heavens-Above

View COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on Keep Track

View COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on Celestrak

View COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on Gunter's Space Page

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

COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-03T05:21:24.206Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #36 in the year 1993 (1993-06-16 UTC)

COSMOS 2251 DEB Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out COSMOS 2251 DEB, 34972 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 16 hours ago