STEP 2

STEP 2 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1994-05-19 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 32 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 539 km and 652 km with an inclination of 81.9°. It travels at approximately 27,231 km/h (7.56 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.91 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks STEP 2 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

STEP 2 orbits at an average altitude of 596 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of STEP 2’s average altitude, there are currently 2,115 active payloads and 634 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 12.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 81.9°, STEP 2 passes over latitudes between 81.9°N and 81.9°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 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 1,569 share a similar altitude band with STEP 2.