DFH-1

DFH-1 is an active satellite operated by 7th Machine Bld. (China), launched on 1970-04-24 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China on the Dong Fang Hong launch. After more than 56 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 423 km and 1,987 km with an inclination of 68.4°. It travels at approximately 26,113 km/h (7.25 km/s), completing one full orbit every 110 minutes — that’s roughly 13.15 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1032 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks DFH-1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DFH-1 orbits at an average altitude of 1,205 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of DFH-1’s average altitude, there are currently 744 active payloads and 274 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0012, ONEWEB-0010, ONEWEB-0008. With an inclination of 68.4°, DFH-1 passes over latitudes between 68.4°N and 68.4°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. China operates approximately 1,341 active satellites in total, of which 68 share a similar altitude band with DFH-1.