OBJECT B

OBJECT B is an active satellite operated by Guodian Gaoke (China), launched on 2019-06-05 from Yellow Sea launch area (Haiyang), China on the Jilin/JSW launch. Independent catalogue analysis identifies this object as Tianqi-3, attributed to Taozhi EF / Guodian Gaokeji. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 458 km and 493 km with an inclination of 45.0°. It travels at approximately 27,469 km/h (7.63 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.30 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks OBJECT B in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OBJECT B orbits at an average altitude of 476 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 OBJECT B’s average altitude, there are currently 11,104 active payloads and 192 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1047. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 56.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 45.0°, OBJECT B passes over latitudes between 45.0°N and 45.0°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. China operates approximately 1,650 active satellites in total, of which 327 share a similar altitude band with OBJECT B.