LES 2

LES 2 is an active satellite operated by USAF SSD (United States), launched on 1965-05-06 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States on the LES 2 launch. After more than 61 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 2,774 km and 14,802 km with an inclination of 32.2°. It travels at approximately 18,460 km/h (5.13 km/s), completing one full orbit every 5 hours 10 minutes — that’s roughly 4.65 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.3967 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks LES 2 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

LES 2 orbits at an average altitude of 8,788 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 LES 2’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 7 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 32.2°, LES 2 passes over latitudes between 32.2°N and 32.2°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. United States operates approximately 13,279 active satellites in total.