POLAR BEAR

POLAR BEAR is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1986-11-14 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 953 km and 1,008 km with an inclination of 89.6°. It travels at approximately 26,508 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.75 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks POLAR BEAR in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

POLAR BEAR orbits at an average altitude of 981 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of POLAR BEAR’s average altitude, there are currently 282 active payloads and 951 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 89.6°, POLAR BEAR passes over latitudes between 89.6°N and 89.6°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 89 share a similar altitude band with POLAR BEAR.