ARASENE

ARASENE is an active satellite operated by France, launched on 1993-05-12 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou. With over 33 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 17,479 km and 36,572 km with an inclination of 5.3°. It travels at approximately 12,437 km/h (3.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 16 hours 53 minutes — that’s roughly 1.42 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.2859 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks ARASENE in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ARASENE orbits at an average altitude of 27,026 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. With an inclination of 5.3°, ARASENE passes over latitudes between 5.3°N and 5.3°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. France operates approximately 115 active satellites in total.