ELECTRON KICK STAGE

ELECTRON KICK STAGE is an active satellite operated by Japan, launched on 2026-09-02 from RLLC. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 373 km and 551 km with an inclination of 38.0°. It travels at approximately 27,496 km/h (7.64 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.35 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks ELECTRON KICK STAGE in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ELECTRON KICK STAGE orbits at an average altitude of 462 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of ELECTRON KICK STAGE’s average altitude, there are currently 9,972 active payloads and 165 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1047. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 55.2% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 38.0°, ELECTRON KICK STAGE passes over latitudes between 38.0°N and 38.0°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. Japan operates approximately 205 active satellites in total, of which 24 share a similar altitude band with ELECTRON KICK STAGE.