YAOGAN 10

YAOGAN 10 is an active satellite operated by Chinese Ministry of National Defense (China), launched on 2010-08-09 from Taiyuan, China. After 16 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 611 km and 614 km with an inclination of 97.9°. It travels at approximately 27,198 km/h (7.55 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.85 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. 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 ~10–25 years. Orbital Radar tracks YAOGAN 10 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

YAOGAN 10 orbits at an average altitude of 613 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of YAOGAN 10’s average altitude, there are currently 1,584 active payloads and 731 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 9.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.9°, YAOGAN 10 passes over latitudes between 97.9°N and 97.9°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. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 141 share a similar altitude band with YAOGAN 10.