USA 59

USA 59 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1990-06-08 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With over 36 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 1,193 km and 11,563 km with an inclination of 63.4°. It travels at approximately 20,130 km/h (5.59 km/s), completing one full orbit every 3 hours 59 minutes — that’s roughly 6.03 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.4067 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks USA 59 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

USA 59 orbits at an average altitude of 6,378 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 USA 59’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 3 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 63.4°, USA 59 passes over latitudes between 63.4°N and 63.4°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 12,339 active satellites in total.