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Graveyard orbit
Definition of a graveyard (disposal) orbit
A graveyard orbit, also known as a disposal orbit, is an orbit to which spacecraft are intentionally moved at the end of their operational life.
This orbit is usually located far away from the crowded operational zones, such as geosynchronous orbits, to reduce the risk of collision with active satellites and to minimize space debris.
For satellites in a geostationary orbit, the graveyard orbit is typically several hundred kilometers above their original orbit, thus ensuring that they do not interfere with operational satellites.
The selection of a graveyard orbit involves careful planning to ensure sustainable space operations, adhering to international guidelines and minimizing long-term risks to both current and future space activities.
Operational requirements for end-of-life disposal
Moving satellites to a graveyard (disposal) orbit is a core end of life practice to protect crowded operational regions, especially the GEO belt, and to limit the creation of long lived debris.
Operators must:
- size the re orbit maneuver,
- verify post maneuver orbit parameters, and
- account for long term drift and perturbations that can bring disposed spacecraft back toward protected regions.
Reliable tracking and conjunction assessment for inactive objects is therefore essential for regulatory compliance, safer fleet operations, and sustainable space traffic management.
Look Up and SYNAPSE support for disposal verification and risk management
Look Up supports end of life planning and post disposal verification by fusing multi source tracking data in SYNAPSE to maintain an up to date space picture, catalogue objects, and assess residual conjunction risk.
SYNAPSE delivers alerts and collision avoidance analytics, including tailored maneuver recommendations that account for mission constraints, helping operators execute and confirm disposal strategies with reduced uncertainty.
When disposal actions concern LEO assets, Look Up can also task SORASYS radars to detect and track objects with high reactivity and feed those observations into SYNAPSE for coordinated risk management.
We deliver space situational awareness (SSA) and space domain awareness (SDA) solutions that help secure active satellites and ensure safe operations in the ever-growing expanse of space.