It was discovered on 11 October 2001, by French astronomer Jean-Claude Merlin at the Le Creusot Observatory in France.
[1] Rammstein has not been observed by any of the space-based surveys such as the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite or the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.
Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, the asteroid measures 3.0 and 5.5 kilometers in diameter based on an absolute magnitude of 15.0 and a geometric albedo of 0.20 and 0.06, which roughly correspond to a body of carbonaceous and stony composition, respectively (both types are common in the central asteroid belt).
[2][4] The Minor Planet Center (MPC) similarly estimates the object's mean diameter to be between 3 and 6 kilometers.
[1][6] This minor planet was named after the German NDH-Metal band Rammstein, which in turn took its name from the city of Ramstein after the tragic 1988 air show disaster at Ramstein Air Base.