ASTRON

ASTRON is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1983-03-23 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 43 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 26,805 km and 177,451 km with an inclination of 77.9°. It travels at approximately 6,900 km/h (1.92 km/s), completing one full orbit every 98.8 hours — that’s roughly 0.24 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.6942 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks ASTRON in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ASTRON orbits at an average altitude of 102,128 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. With an inclination of 77.9°, ASTRON passes over latitudes between 77.9°N and 77.9°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,286 active satellites in total.