METEOR 3-3

METEOR 3-3 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1989-10-24 from PKMTR on the Meteor-3 No. 4 launch. With over 37 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,238 km and 1,249 km with an inclination of 82.5°. It travels at approximately 26,047 km/h (7.24 km/s), completing one full orbit every 110 minutes — that’s roughly 13.05 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 METEOR 3-3 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

METEOR 3-3 orbits at an average altitude of 1,244 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 METEOR 3-3’s average altitude, there are currently 416 active payloads and 292 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 82.5°, METEOR 3-3 passes over latitudes between 82.5°N and 82.5°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. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 6 share a similar altitude band with METEOR 3-3.