DUMMY MASS 1

DUMMY MASS 1 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 1997-09-01 from Taiyuan, China. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 603 km and 609 km with an inclination of 86.3°. It travels at approximately 27,211 km/h (7.56 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.87 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. Orbital Radar tracks DUMMY MASS 1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DUMMY MASS 1 orbits at an average altitude of 606 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of DUMMY MASS 1’s average altitude, there are currently 1,630 active payloads and 688 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 9.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 86.3°, DUMMY MASS 1 passes over latitudes between 86.3°N and 86.3°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. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 174 share a similar altitude band with DUMMY MASS 1.