Orbit calculations show it experiences non-gravitational accelerations (such as a slow gas leak) that gradually shift its position, making it difficult to track.

6Q0B44E was first observed by Catalina Sky Survey researchers at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona on 28 August 2006.

As the object moved away from Earth, its brightness dropped on an approximately six-month cycle down to 28th magnitude, severely limiting study.

[4] It is likely, though unproven, that both 6Q0B44E and XL8D89E are the same object, with the orbit shifted in the intervening decade by non-gravitational accelerations (such as slow escape of gas).

Similarities between the discoveries of 6Q0B44E and J002E3, thought to be part of the Apollo 12 rocket, led some astronomers to speculate that 6Q0B44E may be another relic of human space exploration which has returned to Earth orbit.