GFO

GFO is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1998-02-10 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 28 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 296 km and 324 km with an inclination of 108.0°. It travels at approximately 27,807 km/h (7.72 km/s), completing one full orbit every 91 minutes — that’s roughly 15.88 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks GFO in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GFO orbits at an average altitude of 310 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of GFO’s average altitude, there are currently 1,016 active payloads and 14 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1036, STARLINK-1067, STARLINK-1068. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 5.8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 108.0°, GFO passes over latitudes between 108.0°N and 108.0°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 12,339 active satellites in total, of which 967 share a similar altitude band with GFO.