OPS 7684

OPS 7684 is an active satellite operated by NRO / SAFSP (United States), launched on 1968-12-12 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the CORONA J-50 launch. After more than 58 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 1,376 km and 1,464 km with an inclination of 80.4°. It travels at approximately 25,750 km/h (7.15 km/s), completing one full orbit every 114 minutes — that’s roughly 12.61 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks OPS 7684 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OPS 7684 orbits at an average altitude of 1,420 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 OPS 7684’s average altitude, there are currently 428 active payloads and 289 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 80.4°, OPS 7684 passes over latitudes between 80.4°N and 80.4°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. United States operates approximately 13,279 active satellites in total, of which 22 share a similar altitude band with OPS 7684.