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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https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/46972?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

46972, 1997-051ACE

Orbit

LEO

Last TLE update

4 days ago

Origin

Iridium Communications Inc. (US)

Manufacturer

Unknown

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

Unknown

Mass

Unknown

Launch date (UTC)

1997-09-14 (28 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown

Radar Cross Section

Small (<0.1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history

TLE from 4 days ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46972U 97051ACE 25179.58637825  .00001232  00000-0  31460-3 0  9993
2 46972  86.3878 111.3203 0007653 321.6817 159.8402 14.49762367752350

Epoch: 2025-06-28T14:04Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-06-28T14:04:23.08Z)

Latitude

58.3599°

Longitude

157.45248°

Altitude

741.476 km

Speed

7.487 km/s

True Right ascension

19h 01m 53s

True Declination

58° 12' 21"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

-62.74341°

Longitude

-25.25593°

Altitude

745.234 km

Speed

7.484 km/s

Apparent Right ascension

05h 33m 44s

Apparent Declination

-52° 51' 17"

Sunlit

Object is in daylight

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

16:42:41

Azimuth

209.743° SW

Elevation

-74.401°

Doppler factor

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

728.802 km

Perigee altitude

717.933 km

Semi-major axis

7,101.504 km

Eccentricity

0.00077

Inclination

86.3878°

RAAN

111.3203°

Arg. of periapsis

321.6817°

True anomaly

Unknown

Mean anomaly

159.8402°

Eccentric anomaly

Unknown

Mean motion

3.62675 °/min

Orbital period

99.26 mins

BSTAR

0.0003146

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

IRIDIUM 29, 24944

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33857 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38473 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38474

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38475 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38476 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 38477

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39593 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39594

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39595 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39777

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39778

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39779

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39780 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 39781

IRIDIUM 33 DEB Visibility forecast

Observer location: undefined°, undefined°

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	2025-07-02 07:33:11.023Z	349.365° N	2025-07-02 07:36:11.023Z	301.19° NW	42.392°	2025-07-02 07:41:11.023Z	188.29° SSW
6 mins	2025-07-02 18:42:11.023Z	121.066° SE	2025-07-02 18:45:11.023Z	75.577° E	20.123°	2025-07-02 18:48:11.023Z	35.705° NE
7 mins	2025-07-02 20:21:11.023Z	220.797° SW	2025-07-02 20:24:11.023Z	277.253° WNW	30.885°	2025-07-02 20:28:11.023Z	342.153° N

Authenticating...

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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

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