IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971 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

46971, 1997-051ACD

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)

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Last TLE update: 2 weeks ago

TLE from 2 weeks ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46971U 97051ACD 26251.12637185  .00058618  00000-0  29069-2 0  9994
2 46971  86.3113 203.9901 0010178  69.6295 302.3070 15.17437547682891

Epoch: 2026-09-08T03:01Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-08T03:01:58.527Z)

Latitude

11.7651°

Longitude

172.06409°

Altitude

512.245 km

Speed

7.611 km/s

True Right ascension

13h 39m 01s

True Declination

11° 41' 39"

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

04:41:55

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

517.449 km

Perigee altitude

503.427 km

Semi-major axis

6,888.575 km

Eccentricity

0.00102

Inclination

86.3113°

RAAN

203.9901°

Arg. of periapsis

69.6295°

True anomaly

302.20836°

Mean anomaly

302.307°

Eccentric anomaly

302.25769°

Mean motion

3.7962 °/min

Orbital period

94.83 mins

BSTAR

0.0029069

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35485 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 37135 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35808 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33778 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34097

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34894 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34146

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33955 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34371 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36494 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38244 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38024 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38472 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36566 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38242 (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.
6 mins	2026-09-20 20:24:51.709Z	184.749° SSW	2026-09-20 20:27:51.709Z	278.111° WNW	82.353°	2026-09-20 20:30:51.709Z	0.103° NNE
6 mins	2026-09-21 07:55:51.709Z	356.874° N	2026-09-21 07:57:51.709Z	352.519° N	70.131°	2026-09-21 08:01:51.709Z	179.392° S

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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, 46971 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46971 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, 46971

Orbit data source: Space-Track

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

TLE from 2 weeks ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-08T03:01:58.527Z)

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, 46971 on other resources

Documentation

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