FLYING LAPTOP

FLYING LAPTOP is an active satellite operated by University of Stuttgart (Germany), launched on 2017-07-14 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 550 km and 577 km with an inclination of 97.5°. It travels at approximately 27,294 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 15.01 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 FLYING LAPTOP in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

FLYING LAPTOP orbits at an average altitude of 564 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 FLYING LAPTOP’s average altitude, there are currently 3,171 active payloads and 460 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 18.2% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.5°, FLYING LAPTOP passes over latitudes between 97.5°N and 97.5°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. Germany operates approximately 80 active satellites in total, of which 25 share a similar altitude band with FLYING LAPTOP.