ASTRID 2

ASTRID 2 is an active satellite operated by SSC (Sweden), launched on 1998-12-10 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Nadezhda 17F118 launch. With over 28 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 970 km and 1,006 km with an inclination of 83.0°. It travels at approximately 26,495 km/h (7.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 105 minutes — that’s roughly 13.73 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks ASTRID 2 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ASTRID 2 orbits at an average altitude of 988 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of ASTRID 2’s average altitude, there are currently 358 active payloads and 1,120 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 83.0°, ASTRID 2 passes over latitudes between 83.0°N and 83.0°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. Sweden operates approximately 14 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with ASTRID 2.