NOAA 10

NOAA 10 is an active satellite operated by NOAA (United States), launched on 1986-09-17 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 40 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 786 km and 803 km with an inclination of 98.7°. It travels at approximately 26,850 km/h (7.46 km/s), completing one full orbit every 101 minutes — that’s roughly 14.29 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. It is part of the Weather constellation group. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~25–100 years. Orbital Radar tracks NOAA 10 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

NOAA 10 orbits at an average altitude of 795 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of NOAA 10’s average altitude, there are currently 433 active payloads and 2,269 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include NOAA 20, ONEWEB-0179, ONEWEB-0455. With an inclination of 98.7°, NOAA 10 passes over latitudes between 98.7°N and 98.7°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 161 share a similar altitude band with NOAA 10.