UNISAT

UNISAT is an active satellite operated by Italy, launched on 2000-09-26 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 26 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 506 km and 567 km with an inclination of 64.5°. It travels at approximately 27,347 km/h (7.60 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 15.10 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks UNISAT in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

UNISAT orbits at an average altitude of 537 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 UNISAT’s average altitude, there are currently 3,503 active payloads and 317 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, STARLINK-1451. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 20.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 64.5°, UNISAT passes over latitudes between 64.5°N and 64.5°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Italy operates approximately 88 active satellites in total, of which 39 share a similar altitude band with UNISAT.