COSMOS 2251 DEB, 38487
Orbit data source: Space-Track
COSMOS 2251 DEB, 38487 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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38487 intel report (Beta)
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Identifier
Orbit
Country
CISRelated business
Manufacturer
Unknown
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
Unknown
Mass
Unknown
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Unknown
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown shape, 0.1 m
Radar Cross Section
Small (<0.1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 4 days ago
TLE from 4 days ago
0 COSMOS 2251 DEB
1 38487U 93036BTX 26134.10525601 .00052663 00000-0 15094-2 0 9990
2 38487 73.9655 70.1958 0026610 197.8090 162.2185 15.35294163691242Epoch: 2026-05-14T02:31Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-05-14T02:31:34.119Z)
Latitude
-0.00006°
Longitude
160.44792°
Altitude
480.108 km
Speed
7.616 km/s
True Right ascension
04h 40m 46s
True Declination
0° 00' 00"
Sunlit
Visualization orbit readout
Latitude
Unknown
Longitude
Unknown
Altitude
Unknown
Speed
Unknown
Apparent Right ascension
Unknown
Apparent Declination
Unknown
Sunlit
Visualization observer readout
Local Sidereal Time
21:30:17
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
475.758 km
Perigee altitude
439.379 km
Semi-major axis
6,835.706 km
Eccentricity
0.00266
Inclination
73.9655°
RAAN
70.1958°
Arg. of periapsis
197.809°
True anomaly
162.31133°
Mean anomaly
162.2185°
Eccentric anomaly
162.26494°
Mean motion
3.84033 °/min
Orbital period
93.74 mins
BSTAR
0.0015094
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Other satellites on launch #36 in the year 1993 (1993-06-16 UTC)
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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.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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 mins | 2026-05-18 19:14:53.431Z | 136.688° SSE | 2026-05-18 19:16:53.431Z | 98.645° ESE | 16.947° | 2026-05-18 19:18:53.431Z | 61.499° ENE |
| 4 mins | 2026-05-18 20:50:53.431Z | 264.009° W | 2026-05-18 20:51:53.431Z | 289.611° WNW | 22.917° | 2026-05-18 20:54:53.431Z | 350.968° N |
| 4 mins | 2026-05-19 06:37:53.431Z | 308.859° NW | 2026-05-19 06:39:53.431Z | 241.096° WSW | 30.288° | 2026-05-19 06:41:53.431Z | 194.202° SSW |
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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