IRIDIUM 45

IRIDIUM 45 is an active satellite operated by Iridium (United States), launched on 1997-12-20 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the Iridium MS-6 launch. With over 29 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 375 km and 462 km with an inclination of 86.3°. It travels at approximately 27,584 km/h (7.66 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.50 orbits per day. It is part of the Iridium constellation group. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks IRIDIUM 45 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

IRIDIUM 45 orbits at an average altitude of 419 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 IRIDIUM 45’s average altitude, there are currently 5,993 active payloads and 114 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 31.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 86.3°, IRIDIUM 45 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. United States operates approximately 13,340 active satellites in total, of which 5,784 share a similar altitude band with IRIDIUM 45.