AEROCUBE 6A

AEROCUBE 6A is an active satellite operated by Aerospace Corporation (United States), launched on 2014-06-19 from Yasny / Dombarovsky, Russia on the Dnepr Rideshare 9 launch. After 12 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 543 km and 598 km with an inclination of 97.7°. It travels at approximately 27,280 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.99 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. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks AEROCUBE 6A in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

AEROCUBE 6A orbits at an average altitude of 571 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 AEROCUBE 6A’s average altitude, there are currently 1,495 active payloads and 527 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 8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.7°, AEROCUBE 6A passes over latitudes between 97.7°N and 97.7°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 13,204 active satellites in total, of which 920 share a similar altitude band with AEROCUBE 6A.