IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778 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

39778, 1997-051AAK

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, 0.071 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 12 hours ago

TLE from 12 hours ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 39778U 97051AAK 26307.57579632  .00002288  00000-0  51115-3 0  9994
2 39778  86.3741 261.4811 0008345  25.4303 334.7314 14.56373600654325

Epoch: 2026-11-03T13:49Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-03T13:49:08.802Z)

Latitude

-0°

Longitude

11.35794°

Altitude

702.644 km

Speed

7.507 km/s

True Right ascension

17h 25m 55s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

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

21:23:31

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

707.75 km

Perigee altitude

695.933 km

Semi-major axis

7,079.978 km

Eccentricity

0.00083

Inclination

86.3741°

RAAN

261.4811°

Arg. of periapsis

25.4303°

True anomaly

334.69054°

Mean anomaly

334.7314°

Eccentric anomaly

334.71097°

Mean motion

3.6433 °/min

Orbital period

98.81 mins

BSTAR

0.00051115

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33855 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34353 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35485 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34693 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38469 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33857 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46974

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35615 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34772 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46734

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33774 (Decayed)

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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.
8 mins	2026-11-04 08:31:44.280Z	19.738° NNE	2026-11-04 08:35:44.280Z	82.223° E	32.59°	2026-11-04 08:39:44.280Z	143.324° SSE
5 mins	2026-11-04 10:12:44.280Z	310.818° NW	2026-11-04 10:14:44.280Z	276.676° WNW	23.685°	2026-11-04 10:17:44.280Z	231.735° WSW
7 mins	2026-11-04 21:16:44.280Z	160.147° S	2026-11-04 21:19:44.280Z	98.022° ESE	55.41°	2026-11-04 21:23:44.280Z	14.12° NNE

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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, 39778 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778 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, 39778

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 12 hours ago

TLE from 12 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-03T13:49:08.802Z)

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, 39778 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 12 hours ago