IRIDIUM 33 DEB
NORAD 35052· COSPAR 1997-051NY· Debris· LEO
Live · TLE epoch 2026-06-09 03:06 UTC
Orbit class
LEO — Low Earth Orbit (circular, < 2,000 km)
Operator
Iridium Communications
Country
United States
Manufacturer
Thales Alenia Space
Launched
Sep 14, 1997
Mass
—
Apogee
774 km
Perigee
759 km
Inclination
86.33°
Period
1.67 h
Parent launch
The parent object was launched on Sep 14, 1997 from 81/23 (81L), Kazakhstan aboard a Proton-K/17S40.
Proton-K/17S40 | Iridium 27 to 33 →Debris origin · satellite collision
Iridium 33 was an operational satellite in the Iridium voice-and-data constellation when it was struck by the defunct Russian Kosmos-2251 on 10 February 2009 at about 789 km altitude — the first accidental collision between two intact satellites. Its debris cloud accounts for roughly 600 catalogued fragments; together the two clouds produced over 2,000.
Parent object
Iridium 33
Event date
Feb 10, 2009
Altitude
~789 km
Radar size class
SMALL
Part of the Iridium NEXT constellation · this satellite is one of 190
Second-generation Iridium constellation; 66 active sats provide global comms.
Related satellites
Sources & further reading
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