GALILEO 6 (262)

GALILEO 6 (262) is an active satellite operated by European Space Agency (ESA) (ESA (European Space Agency)), launched on 2014-08-22 from Guiana Space Centre, Kourou. After 12 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 16,910 km and 26,288 km with an inclination of 48.9°. It travels at approximately 13,590 km/h (3.78 km/s), completing one full orbit every 12 hours 56 minutes — that’s roughly 1.86 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1676 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. It is part of the Galileo constellation group. Orbital Radar tracks GALILEO 6 (262) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GALILEO 6 (262) orbits at an average altitude of 21,599 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of GALILEO 6 (262)’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 7 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include GALILEO 5 (261). This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 48.9°, GALILEO 6 (262) passes over latitudes between 48.9°N and 48.9°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. ESA (European Space Agency) operates approximately 93 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with GALILEO 6 (262).