IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965 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

46965, 1997-051ABX

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: 4 days ago

TLE from 4 days ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46965U 97051ABX 26169.69513884  .00002015  00000-0  39972-3 0  9991
2 46965  86.3345 257.2240 0020485  52.6480  99.8093 14.61633290650124

Epoch: 2026-06-18T16:40Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-18T16:40:59.995Z)

Latitude

27.28984°

Longitude

-81.84458°

Altitude

693.896 km

Speed

7.51 km/s

True Right ascension

05h 01m 21s

True Declination

27° 08' 55"

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

21:39:34

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

699.301 km

Perigee altitude

670.364 km

Semi-major axis

7,062.969 km

Eccentricity

0.00205

Inclination

86.3345°

RAAN

257.224°

Arg. of periapsis

52.648°

True anomaly

100.04051°

Mean anomaly

99.8093°

Eccentric anomaly

99.92491°

Mean motion

3.65647 °/min

Orbital period

98.46 mins

BSTAR

0.00039972

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33864 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34354 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35925 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34705 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34501 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35051

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34095 (Decayed)

SL-12 R/B, 24951 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33861 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34601 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35485 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39794 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34370 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33857 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34778 (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.
9 mins	2026-06-22 17:29:31.928Z	3.724° NNE	2026-06-22 17:33:31.928Z	56.658° ENE	41.918°	2026-06-22 17:38:31.928Z	169.14° S
7 mins	2026-06-23 06:12:31.928Z	190.592° SSW	2026-06-23 06:15:31.928Z	304.24° NW	43.701°	2026-06-23 06:19:31.928Z	358.559° 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, 46965 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965 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, 46965

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 4 days ago

TLE from 4 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-18T16:40:59.995Z)

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, 46965 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 4 days ago