Confirmed

LUCH (OLYMP) broke up on January 30, 2026

Published by the breakups project on Feb 27, 2026, 4:00 AM UTC, confirmed on February 27, 2026 by its pieces (1).

Download the figures (PNG)Height chartOrbit at the time shownPieces’ spread

Mean altitude of every set of elements, January 15, 2026 to February 13, 2026

One dot per set · 29 sets
36,112 km36,113 km36,114 km36,115 km36,116 kmJan 16Jan 23Jan 30Feb 6Feb 13Event, Jan 30, 6:09 AM UTC ± 1 min+1.6 km36,112 km36,113 km36,114 km36,115 km36,116 kmJan 16Jan 23Jan 30Feb 6Feb 13Event, Jan 30, 6:09 AM UTC ± 1 min+1.6 km

Mean altitude from the mean motion of each set of elements Space-Track published for LUCH (OLYMP) (40258). Dots in red are the sets from the detector’s step on; the band is the time shown.

Where it was at 6:09 AM UTC

The orbit LUCH (OLYMP) was on at the time shown: one orbit from its last set of elements before the event (grey) and one from its first set after it (red). The point is where the set before put it then, 36,110 km up. Follow it on the live map now. The live map plays back the past 7 days, so this instant is beyond it.

The parent and its pieces

Body
LUCH (OLYMP), 40258
International designator
2014-058A
Class
Payload
Launched
September 27, 2014
Mass
1,930 kg
Orbit
36,099 km to 36,133 km up, one orbit every 1,452.9 min

The detector counted 1 piece of it.

See them

Masses: data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org, licensed CC BY 4.0

How far its pieces have spread

1 piece placed by its elements
30,000 km35,000 km40,000 km45,000 km1,450 min1,455 min1,460 min1,465 min1,470 minthe parent’s periodLUCH (OLYMP), 36,116 km30,000 km35,000 km40,000 km45,000 km1,450 min1,455 min1,460 min1,465 min1,470 minthe parent’s periodLUCH (OLYMP), 36,116 km
  • Highest point of a piece’s orbit (apogee)
  • Lowest point (perigee)

Each piece the detector counted, by the time it takes to go round and the highest and lowest points of its orbit, from its latest elements on Space-Track. A piece kicked forward flies higher and slower; one kicked back, lower and faster. The ring is LUCH (OLYMP) and the dashed line its period: how far the pieces spread either side of it says how violent the event was.

Why it is shown

  • What the detector saw: the mean altitude stepped up by about 1.6 km between the sets of Jan 30, 2026, 8:18 AM and Feb 1, 2026, 8:12 AM UTC; the perigee moved −160 m, the apogee +3.3 km and the inclination −0.0042°.
  • The step held over the 5 sets after it, at 14.5 times the scatter of the parent’s own record.
  • How it was confirmed: by 1 piece catalogued in the parent’s orbital plane.
  • The time shown: January 30, 2026, 6:09 AM UTC ± 1 min, reported by the news.
  • The detector’s own estimate: between Jan 30, 2026, 8:18 AM and Feb 1, 2026, 8:12 AM UTC.

Reported by:

The detector’s own reasons, as it wrote them:

  • 1 new body under launch 2014-058 (67745) numbered above the catalogue's mark at the step, first published after it, in the parent's plane (distance 0.2), moving 11.4 m/s from it
  • propagated back, 1 piece converge on 40258 at 2026-02-01 02:21, sigma 27 min, missing it by 241.0 km; 2 laps' crossings lie within twice that miss; 1 of 1 pieces cross 40258 in the window
  • 1 new body under 2014-058 in 14 days against a background of 0.50 (0 in the year before): Poisson tail 3.9e-1, no burst
  • 1 piece in the plane of parent 40258 (distance under 3), moving 11.4 m/s, the semi-major axes spread over 0.0 km
  • the step was read as a manoeuvre from the object's own record; the catalogue says otherwise
  • confirmed 25.8 days after the step

Source: Orbinauts.com, orbits from Space-Track. Breakups and their evidence from the open-source breakups detector; each time is credited to whoever dated it.

Its pieces in the catalogue

1 piece of 2014-058 the detector counted, as Space-Track lists it now.

International designatorName in the catalogueCatalogue number
2014-058DLUCH (OLYMP) DEB67745