IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 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.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/40996?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" title="Kayhan Space Satcat Satellite Viewer"></iframe>

Iframe URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/40996?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

Optional secondary NORAD IDs

Max 10 NORAD IDs; Separated by commas

Initial load time (optional)

ISO8601 Format

TLE date request (optional)

ISO8601 Format

Identifier

40996, 1997-051ABJ

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, 0.050 m

Radar Cross Section

Small (<0.1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 40996U 97051ABJ 26283.54363406  .00081139  00000-0  34407-2 0  9994
2 40996  86.3475 217.3274 0008333  51.8622 308.3372 15.22753025670416

Epoch: 2026-10-10T13:02Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-10-10T13:02:49.982Z)

Latitude

-0.00007°

Longitude

2.46989°

Altitude

497.164 km

Speed

7.618 km/s

True Right ascension

14h 29m 18s

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

21:30:58

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

500.109 km

Perigee altitude

488.656 km

Semi-major axis

6,872.52 km

Eccentricity

0.00083

Inclination

86.3475°

RAAN

217.3274°

Arg. of periapsis

51.8622°

True anomaly

308.26225°

Mean anomaly

308.3372°

Eccentric anomaly

308.29973°

Mean motion

3.80951 °/min

Orbital period

94.5 mins

BSTAR

0.0034407

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38228

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34833

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34540

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35797

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 37548

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36488 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40992 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33949 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35483 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36492 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34143 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34827 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34705 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38035 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34774 (Decayed)

Did you know?

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

Click here to try in Sandbox

IRIDIUM 33 DEB Visibility forecast

Loading observer location...
Set Observer location

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.
5 mins	2026-10-12 08:12:35.547Z	327.294° NNW	2026-10-12 08:14:35.547Z	260.466° W	40.459°	2026-10-12 08:17:35.547Z	202.555° SW
6 mins	2026-10-12 20:22:35.547Z	199.145° SSW	2026-10-12 20:24:35.547Z	244.575° WSW	54.546°	2026-10-12 20:28:35.547Z	354.423° N

Items per page:

1–2 of 2 items

of 1 page

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

Please sign in to view Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs.

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

CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings

Authenticating...

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

Check out IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 40996 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, 40996

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-10-10T13:02:49.982Z)

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, 40996 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 days ago