TIROS 6

TIROS 6 is an active satellite operated by GSFC (United States), launched on 1962-09-18 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States. After more than 64 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 572 km and 585 km with an inclination of 58.3°. It travels at approximately 27,264 km/h (7.57 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.96 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 ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks TIROS 6 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

TIROS 6 orbits at an average altitude of 579 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 TIROS 6’s average altitude, there are currently 1,210 active payloads and 597 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 6.4% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 58.3°, TIROS 6 passes over latitudes between 58.3°N and 58.3°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 13,279 active satellites in total, of which 592 share a similar altitude band with TIROS 6.