ORION 3

ORION 3 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1999-05-05 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. With over 27 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 2,456 km and 2,529 km with an inclination of 19.8°. It travels at approximately 24,142 km/h (6.71 km/s), completing one full orbit every 2 hours 19 minutes — that’s roughly 10.39 orbits per day. Orbital Radar tracks ORION 3 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ORION 3 orbits at an average altitude of 2,493 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 ORION 3’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 6 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 19.8°, ORION 3 passes over latitudes between 19.8°N and 19.8°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. United States operates approximately 12,360 active satellites in total.