TIROS 1

TIROS 1 is an active satellite operated by GSFC (United States), launched on 1960-04-01 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States. After more than 66 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 618 km and 648 km with an inclination of 48.4°. It travels at approximately 27,158 km/h (7.54 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.79 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. Orbital Radar tracks TIROS 1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

TIROS 1 orbits at an average altitude of 633 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of TIROS 1’s average altitude, there are currently 1,018 active payloads and 940 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 5.4% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 48.4°, TIROS 1 passes over latitudes between 48.4°N and 48.4°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. United States operates approximately 13,279 active satellites in total, of which 539 share a similar altitude band with TIROS 1.