GAOFEN 8

GAOFEN 8 is an active satellite operated by People's Liberation Army (C41) (China), launched on 2015-06-26 from Taiyuan, China. After 11 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 422 km and 434 km with an inclination of 97.7°. It travels at approximately 27,564 km/h (7.66 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.46 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 ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks GAOFEN 8 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GAOFEN 8 orbits at an average altitude of 428 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 GAOFEN 8’s average altitude, there are currently 4,316 active payloads and 141 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 24.8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.7°, GAOFEN 8 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. China operates approximately 1,219 active satellites in total, of which 70 share a similar altitude band with GAOFEN 8.