GOES 10

GOES 10 is an active satellite operated by NOAA (United States), launched on 1997-04-25 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at altitudes between 35,985 km and 36,238 km with an inclination of 13.1°. It travels at approximately 11,027 km/h (3.06 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.2 hours — that’s roughly 0.99 orbits per day. It is part of the Goes constellation group. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks GOES 10 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GOES 10 occupies geostationary orbit at approximately 35,786 km above the equator, where its orbital period matches the Earth’s 24-hour rotation. From the ground, it appears to hover over a fixed point — ideal for broadcast television, weather monitoring and wideband communications. With an inclination of 13.1°, it traces a small figure-of-eight pattern relative to the equator rather than remaining perfectly stationary, which can indicate aging stationkeeping fuel or a deliberate inclined-orbit strategy. Within ±50 km of GOES 10’s average altitude, there are currently 182 active payloads and 8 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. United States operates approximately 12,339 active satellites in total, of which 54 share a similar altitude band with GOES 10.