EOS-5

EOS-5 is an active satellite operated by India, launched on 2026-09-03 from SRI on the GISAT-1A launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 154 km and 30,963 km with an inclination of 19.3°. It travels at approximately 15,348 km/h (4.26 km/s), completing one full orbit every 8 hours 59 minutes — that’s roughly 2.67 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7025 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks EOS-5 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

EOS-5 orbits at an average altitude of 15,559 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of EOS-5’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 10 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 19.3°, EOS-5 passes over latitudes between 19.3°N and 19.3°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. India operates approximately 109 active satellites in total.