NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126)

NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126) is an active satellite operated by U.S. Space Force (United States), launched on 1996-07-16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With over 30 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 21,111 km and 21,458 km with an inclination of 56.0°. It travels at approximately 13,667 km/h (3.80 km/s), completing one full orbit every 12 hours 43 minutes — that’s roughly 1.89 orbits per day. It is part of the Gps Ops constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126) orbits at an average altitude of 21,285 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 NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126)’s average altitude, there are currently 9 active payloads and 10 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 56.0°, NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126) passes over latitudes between 56.0°N and 56.0°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 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 9 share a similar altitude band with NAVSTAR 38 (USA 126).