IRIDIUM 33 DEB
NORAD 37136· Debris· LEO
Live · TLE epoch 2026-07-20 09:08 UTC
Orbit class
LEO — Low Earth Orbit (circular, < 2,000 km)
Operator
Iridium Communications
Country
United States
Manufacturer
Thales Alenia Space
Launched
—
Mass
—
Apogee
856 km
Perigee
746 km
Inclination
86.17°
Period
1.68 h
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
Part of the Iridium NEXT constellation · this satellite is one of 192
Second-generation Iridium constellation; 66 active sats provide global comms.
Related satellites
Sources & further reading
Embed this satellite on your site
Free for editorial use. Attribution back to LowEarth is required.
<iframe src="https://lowearth.app/embed/37136" width="640" height="400" frameborder="0" allow="fullscreen"></iframe>