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: 1 week ago
TLE from 1 week ago
0 COSMOS 2251 DEB
1 38487U 93036BTX 26035.38544988 .00051364 00000-0 21477-2 0 9998
2 38487 73.9697 280.9434 0020041 77.6811 282.6630 15.23164951676159Epoch: 2026-02-04T09:15Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-04T09:15:02.869Z)
Latitude
-0.00001°
Longitude
7.62866°
Altitude
496.019 km
Speed
7.619 km/s
True Right ascension
18h 43m 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
07:07:55
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
507.608 km
Perigee altitude
480.064 km
Semi-major axis
6,871.973 km
Eccentricity
0.002
Inclination
73.9697°
RAAN
280.9434°
Arg. of periapsis
77.6811°
True anomaly
282.43881°
Mean anomaly
282.663°
Eccentric anomaly
282.55092°
Mean motion
3.80997 °/min
Orbital period
94.49 mins
BSTAR
0.0021477
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 mins | 2026-02-12 15:56:24.141Z | 198.795° SSW | 2026-02-12 15:59:24.141Z | 204.733° SW | 42.676° | 2026-02-12 16:03:24.141Z | 18.357° NNE |
| 6 mins | 2026-02-13 01:49:24.141Z | 350.427° N | 2026-02-13 01:52:24.141Z | 107.78° ESE | 40.674° | 2026-02-13 01:55:24.141Z | 152.025° SSE |
Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs
Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions
Click to sort rows by RSO header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Type header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Inclination Δ header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by RAAN Δ header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Coplanar Angle header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by SMA Δ header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Orbital period header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by <5km Md TCA header in descending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by TCA header in descending order |
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