ARC-1

ARC-1 is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 2015-10-08 from Vandenberg SFB, California. After 11 years in orbit, it continues to be tracked by global surveillance networks. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 390 km and 440 km with an inclination of 64.8°. It travels at approximately 27,591 km/h (7.66 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.51 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks ARC-1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ARC-1 orbits at an average altitude of 415 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 ARC-1’s average altitude, there are currently 2,026 active payloads and 117 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 11.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 64.8°, ARC-1 passes over latitudes between 64.8°N and 64.8°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 12,339 active satellites in total, of which 1,832 share a similar altitude band with ARC-1.