TESS

TESS is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 2018-04-18 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the TESS launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 115,524 km and 354,239 km with an inclination of 56.8°. It travels at approximately 4,627 km/h (1.29 km/s), completing one full orbit every 327.6 hours — that’s roughly 0.07 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.4947 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks TESS in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

TESS orbits at an average altitude of 234,882 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. With an inclination of 56.8°, TESS passes over latitudes between 56.8°N and 56.8°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 12,803 active satellites in total.