Space Domain Awareness

Debris associated with Russian upper stage from Feb 2026 GEO launch cataloged. On 12 Feb 2026, a Russian GEO launch placed Elektro-L No.5 (67756 / 2026-028A) and the first Iranian GEO satellite, "Jam-e Jam 1" (67757 / 2026-028B). Mickey caught the GEO insertion and subsequent Block DM-03 rocket body (67758 / 2026-028C) passivation with an amazing EO collect video, cropped portion below. (Original video here The passivation appeared to result in numerous additional objects. It was unclear at the time if this was simply ice (frozen liquid oxygen effluent) from the depletion burn, or if persistent objects may actually be present. In the video, Elektro-L No.5 and the Jam-e Jam 1 satellite are seen receding to the upper left relative to the upper stage (presumably the brighter object is Elektro-L No.5). Well, it appears there were in fact some persistent objects. A piece of debris (100099 / 2026-028D) from the upper stage was cataloged by U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S) on 20 July 2026. It is likely additional pieces accompanied this one, but they may not be held in track custody with sufficient fidelity to enter the catalog. #SpaceDomainAwareness #SpaceDebris #LongTermSustainment