S80/T

S80/T is an active satellite operated by France, launched on 1992-08-10 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou. With over 34 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,301 km and 1,327 km with an inclination of 66.1°. It travels at approximately 25,927 km/h (7.20 km/s), completing one full orbit every 112 minutes — that’s roughly 12.87 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks S80/T in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

S80/T orbits at an average altitude of 1,314 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 S80/T’s average altitude, there are currently 13 active payloads and 261 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 66.1°, S80/T passes over latitudes between 66.1°N and 66.1°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. France operates approximately 115 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with S80/T.