JAS 1 (FUJI 1)

JAS 1 (FUJI 1) is an active satellite operated by Japan, launched on 1986-08-12 from TNSTA. With over 40 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,479 km and 1,496 km with an inclination of 50.0°. It travels at approximately 25,639 km/h (7.12 km/s), completing one full orbit every 116 minutes — that’s roughly 12.44 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks JAS 1 (FUJI 1) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

JAS 1 (FUJI 1) orbits at an average altitude of 1,488 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 JAS 1 (FUJI 1)’s average altitude, there are currently 279 active payloads and 258 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 50.0°, JAS 1 (FUJI 1) passes over latitudes between 50.0°N and 50.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Japan operates approximately 189 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with JAS 1 (FUJI 1).