IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972 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

46972, 1997-051ACE

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: 3 days ago

TLE from 3 days ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46972U 97051ACE 26263.35329984  .00000957  00000-0  23336-3 0  9993
2 46972  86.3808 278.0621 0006966 233.7225 189.9700 14.51719012656574

Epoch: 2026-09-20T08:28Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-20T08:28:45.106Z)

Latitude

63.53817°

Longitude

158.88672°

Altitude

735.932 km

Speed

7.49 km/s

True Right ascension

19h 01m 17s

True Declination

63° 24' 01"

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

11:34:52

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

721.922 km

Perigee altitude

712.037 km

Semi-major axis

7,095.117 km

Eccentricity

0.0007

Inclination

86.3808°

RAAN

278.0621°

Arg. of periapsis

233.7225°

True anomaly

189.95619°

Mean anomaly

189.97°

Eccentric anomaly

189.96309°

Mean motion

3.63165 °/min

Orbital period

99.13 mins

BSTAR

0.00023336

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33961 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33775

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34698 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35048 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46435

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33868 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 29, 24944

IRIDIUM 33, 24946

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36082 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34982 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38238 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 36498 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34157 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33872 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34094 (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	2026-09-24 01:38:53.896Z	197.847° SSW	2026-09-24 01:41:53.896Z	261.662° W	62.639°	2026-09-24 01:46:53.896Z	355.698° N
7 mins	2026-09-24 12:01:53.896Z	32.607° NE	2026-09-24 12:04:53.896Z	79.488° E	25.182°	2026-09-24 12:08:53.896Z	134.608° SE
6 mins	2026-09-24 13:41:53.896Z	321.96° NNW	2026-09-24 13:43:53.896Z	287.099° WNW	30.735°	2026-09-24 13:47:53.896Z	219.309° SW

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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, 46972 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46972 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, 46972

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 3 days ago

TLE from 3 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-20T08:28:45.106Z)

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, 46972 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 3 days ago