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.
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Embed this page
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
46972 intel report (Beta)
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Create New Watchlist
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
Unknown
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
Unknown
Mass
Unknown
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Unknown
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown shape, 0.1 m
Radar Cross Section
Small (<0.1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 2 weeks ago
TLE from 2 weeks ago
0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46972U 97051ACE 25292.14463113 .00004995 00000-0 12769-2 0 9997
2 46972 86.3855 62.8917 0007334 294.5090 191.6572 14.50293738607819Epoch: 2025-10-19T03:28Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-10-19T03:28:16.129Z)
Latitude
53.79459°
Longitude
158.03521°
Altitude
738.721 km
Speed
7.488 km/s
True Right ascension
15h 51m 52s
True Declination
53° 37' 48"
Sunlit
Visualization orbit readout
Latitude
Unknown
Longitude
Unknown
Altitude
Unknown
Speed
Unknown
Apparent Right ascension
Unknown
Apparent Declination
Unknown
Sunlit
Visualization observer readout
Local Sidereal Time
09:22:26
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
726.838 km
Perigee altitude
716.424 km
Semi-major axis
7,099.768 km
Eccentricity
0.00073
Inclination
86.3855°
RAAN
62.8917°
Arg. of periapsis
294.509°
True anomaly
191.64023°
Mean anomaly
191.6572°
Eccentric anomaly
191.64872°
Mean motion
3.62808 °/min
Orbital period
99.23 mins
BSTAR
0.0012769
Loading maneuver chart data...
Computing Atmospheric mass density...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Other satellites on launch #51 in the year 1997 (1997-09-14 UTC)
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.IRIDIUM 33 DEB Visibility forecast
Loading 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mins | 2025-11-04 18:31:44.029Z | 34.463° NE | 2025-11-04 18:34:44.029Z | 79.568° E | 21.318° | 2025-11-04 18:37:44.029Z | 123.718° SE |
| 6 mins | 2025-11-04 20:11:44.029Z | 325.264° NNW | 2025-11-04 20:14:44.029Z | 264.027° W | 29.22° | 2025-11-04 20:17:44.029Z | 216.901° SW |
| 8 mins | 2025-11-05 07:18:44.029Z | 149.278° SSE | 2025-11-05 07:21:44.029Z | 100.95° ESE | 32.685° | 2025-11-05 07:26:44.029Z | 17.749° NNE |
| 5 mins | 2025-11-05 08:59:44.029Z | 249.82° W | 2025-11-05 09:01:44.029Z | 279.084° WNW | 18.641° | 2025-11-05 09:04:44.029Z | 321.876° NNW |
Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs
Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions
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 ascending 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 ascending order |
|---|