SES MPOWER-F12

SES MPOWER-F12 is an active satellite operated by SES, launched on 2026-09-13 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 299 km and 6,661 km with an inclination of 16.9°. It travels at approximately 22,900 km/h (6.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 42 minutes — that’s roughly 8.87 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.3229 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. It is part of the Ses constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks SES MPOWER-F12 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

SES MPOWER-F12 orbits at an average altitude of 3,480 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 SES MPOWER-F12’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 3 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 16.9°, SES MPOWER-F12 passes over latitudes between 16.9°N and 16.9°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. SES operates approximately 80 active satellites in total, of which 3 share a similar altitude band with SES MPOWER-F12.