JASON

JASON is an active satellite operated by NASA / CNES (United States), launched on 2001-12-07 from Vandenberg SFB, California. With over 25 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,318 km and 1,332 km with an inclination of 66.0°. It travels at approximately 25,908 km/h (7.20 km/s), completing one full orbit every 112 minutes — that’s roughly 12.84 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks JASON in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

JASON orbits at an average altitude of 1,325 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of JASON’s average altitude, there are currently 13 active payloads and 215 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 66.0°, JASON passes over latitudes between 66.0°N and 66.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,360 active satellites in total, of which 5 share a similar altitude band with JASON.