OPS 3899

OPS 3899 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1983-06-20 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 43 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,284 km and 1,287 km with an inclination of 96.7°. It travels at approximately 25,975 km/h (7.22 km/s), completing one full orbit every 111 minutes — that’s roughly 12.94 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks OPS 3899 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OPS 3899 orbits at an average altitude of 1,286 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of OPS 3899’s average altitude, there are currently 13 active payloads and 282 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 96.7°, OPS 3899 passes over latitudes between 96.7°N and 96.7°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. United States operates approximately 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 4 share a similar altitude band with OPS 3899.