DSX

DSX is an active satellite operated by Air Force Research Laboratory (United States), launched on 2019-06-25 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 5,990 km and 12,049 km with an inclination of 42.3°. It travels at approximately 18,321 km/h (5.09 km/s), completing one full orbit every 5 hours 17 minutes — that’s roughly 4.54 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1968 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks DSX in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DSX orbits at an average altitude of 9,020 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. Within ±50 km of DSX’s average altitude, there are currently 1 active payload and 9 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 42.3°, DSX passes over latitudes between 42.3°N and 42.3°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. United States operates approximately 12,339 active satellites in total.