ESSA 2 (OT-2)

ESSA 2 (OT-2) is an active satellite operated by ESSA (United States), launched on 1966-02-28 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States on the Tiros OT2 launch. After more than 60 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,354 km and 1,415 km with an inclination of 101.2°. It travels at approximately 25,809 km/h (7.17 km/s), completing one full orbit every 113 minutes — that’s roughly 12.69 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks ESSA 2 (OT-2) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ESSA 2 (OT-2) orbits at an average altitude of 1,385 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 ESSA 2 (OT-2)’s average altitude, there are currently 241 active payloads and 245 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 101.2°, ESSA 2 (OT-2) passes over latitudes between 101.2°N and 101.2°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 13,279 active satellites in total, of which 11 share a similar altitude band with ESSA 2 (OT-2).