OSCAR 23

OSCAR 23 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1988-04-26 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 38 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,012 km and 1,298 km with an inclination of 90.3°. It travels at approximately 26,199 km/h (7.28 km/s), completing one full orbit every 108 minutes — that’s roughly 13.28 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~500–1,000 years. Orbital Radar tracks OSCAR 23 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OSCAR 23 orbits at an average altitude of 1,155 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 OSCAR 23’s average altitude, there are currently 565 active payloads and 293 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 90.3°, OSCAR 23 passes over latitudes between 90.3°N and 90.3°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 7 share a similar altitude band with OSCAR 23.