NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49)

NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49) is an active satellite operated by U.S. Space Force (United States), launched on 1989-12-11 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With over 37 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 21,175 km and 21,300 km with an inclination of 56.4°. It travels at approximately 13,679 km/h (3.80 km/s), completing one full orbit every 12 hours 41 minutes — that’s roughly 1.89 orbits per day. It is part of the Gps Ops constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49) orbits at an average altitude of 21,238 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49)’s average altitude, there are currently 10 active payloads and 14 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 56.4°, NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49) passes over latitudes between 56.4°N and 56.4°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 10 share a similar altitude band with NAVSTAR 17 (USA 49).