IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979

Orbit data source: Space-Track

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979 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

46979, 1997-051ACM

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

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 shape, 0.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Small (<0.1 m²)

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

TLE from 2 weeks ago

0 IRIDIUM 33 DEB
1 46979U 97051ACM 26024.72896700  .00075595  00000-0  70546-2 0  9995
2 46979  86.3325  28.5188 0029148  75.5044 284.9415 14.93512695360697

Epoch: 2026-01-24T17:29Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-01-24T17:29:42.748Z)

Latitude

-0.00005°

Longitude

2.04143°

Altitude

584.946 km

Speed

7.571 km/s

True Right ascension

01h 54m 04s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

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

01:28:45

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

604.168 km

Perigee altitude

563.583 km

Semi-major axis

6,962.013 km

Eccentricity

0.00291

Inclination

86.3325°

RAAN

28.5188°

Arg. of periapsis

75.5044°

True anomaly

284.61848°

Mean anomaly

284.9415°

Eccentric anomaly

284.78002°

Mean motion

3.73629 °/min

Orbital period

96.35 mins

BSTAR

0.0070546

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

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34929 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35304 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34536 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34593 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34152 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34931 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35748 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35922 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34659 (Decayed)

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 34538

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 33887

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 37550

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 35631

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46734

IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46965

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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.
4 mins	2026-02-11 00:09:05.307Z	252.363° W	2026-02-11 00:11:05.307Z	287.355° WNW	16.259°	2026-02-11 00:13:05.307Z	319.196° NNW
6 mins	2026-02-11 10:12:05.307Z	20.45° NNE	2026-02-11 10:15:05.307Z	92.151° ESE	32.881°	2026-02-11 10:18:05.307Z	150.089° SSE
6 mins	2026-02-11 22:36:05.307Z	150.447° SSE	2026-02-11 22:39:05.307Z	70.528° E	32.854°	2026-02-11 22:42:05.307Z	19.167° NNE

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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, 46979 on other resources

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979 on Heavens-Above

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979 on Keep Track

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979 on Celestrak

View IRIDIUM 33 DEB, 46979 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, 46979

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: 2026-01-24T17:29:42.748Z)

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, 46979 on other resources

Documentation

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