MAQSAT B

MAQSAT B is an active satellite operated by ESA (European Space Agency), launched on 1997-10-30 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 559 km and 26,511 km with an inclination of 7.9°. It travels at approximately 16,109 km/h (4.47 km/s), completing one full orbit every 7 hours 46 minutes — that’s roughly 3.09 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.6519 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MAQSAT B in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MAQSAT B orbits at an average altitude of 13,535 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 MAQSAT B’s average altitude, there are currently 2 active payloads and 4 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 7.9°, MAQSAT B passes over latitudes between 7.9°N and 7.9°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. ESA (European Space Agency) operates approximately 93 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with MAQSAT B.