DEORBITSAIL

DEORBITSAIL is an active satellite operated by United Kingdom, launched on 2015-07-10 from SRI. After 11 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 547 km and 563 km with an inclination of 97.6°. It travels at approximately 27,311 km/h (7.59 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 15.04 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 DEORBITSAIL in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DEORBITSAIL orbits at an average altitude of 555 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 DEORBITSAIL’s average altitude, there are currently 3,362 active payloads and 382 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 19.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.6°, DEORBITSAIL passes over latitudes between 97.6°N and 97.6°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 Kingdom operates approximately 720 active satellites in total, of which 22 share a similar altitude band with DEORBITSAIL.