IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228 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

38228, 1997-051ZC

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

Iridium Communications Inc. (US)

Manufacturer

Unknown

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

Unknown

Mass

Unknown

Launch date (UTC)

1997-09-14 (29 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR)

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: 5 days ago

TLE from 5 days ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 38228U 97051ZC  26084.04682363  .00000852  00000-0  33271-3 0  9991
2 38228  86.2998   4.9720 0062098 220.4027 157.5982 14.27483477862416

Epoch: 2026-03-25T01:07Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-25T01:07:25.561Z)

Latitude

18.22226°

Longitude

166.81326°

Altitude

843.909 km

Speed

7.411 km/s

True Right ascension

00h 24m 44s

True Declination

18° 07' 18"

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

01:28:23

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

841.688 km

Perigee altitude

752.574 km

Semi-major axis

7,175.268 km

Eccentricity

0.00621

Inclination

86.2998°

RAAN

4.972°

Arg. of periapsis

220.4027°

True anomaly

157.86745°

Mean anomaly

157.5982°

Eccentric anomaly

157.73302°

Mean motion

3.57097 °/min

Orbital period

100.81 mins

BSTAR

0.00033271

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39787 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34161 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39785 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36566 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34515 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 37134 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36498 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34077

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38022

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36490

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40998

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34376

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34926

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34540

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34529

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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.
9 mins	2026-03-30 06:06:55.589Z	6.313° NNE	2026-03-30 06:10:55.589Z	63.075° ENE	40.89°	2026-03-30 06:15:55.589Z	165.189° S
5 mins	2026-03-30 17:27:55.589Z	105.902° ESE	2026-03-30 17:29:55.589Z	81.634° E	16.184°	2026-03-30 17:32:55.589Z	45.885° ENE
9 mins	2026-03-30 19:06:55.589Z	200.299° SSW	2026-03-30 19:10:55.589Z	281.87° WNW	40.582°	2026-03-30 19:15:55.589Z	354.052° 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, 38228 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228 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, 38228

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 5 days ago

TLE from 5 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-25T01:07:25.561Z)

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, 38228 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 5 days ago