MERIDIAN 8

MERIDIAN 8 is an active satellite operated by Military Space Forces (VKS) (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2019-07-30 from PKMTR. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 1,388 km and 38,970 km with an inclination of 63.1°. It travels at approximately 13,949 km/h (3.87 km/s), completing one full orbit every 11 hours 58 minutes — that’s roughly 2.01 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7078 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MERIDIAN 8 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MERIDIAN 8 orbits at an average altitude of 20,179 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 MERIDIAN 8’s average altitude, there are currently 102 active payloads and 13 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include GPS BIIR-5 (PRN 22), GPS BIIR-8 (PRN 16), GPS BIIR-11 (PRN 19). With an inclination of 63.1°, MERIDIAN 8 passes over latitudes between 63.1°N and 63.1°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 55 share a similar altitude band with MERIDIAN 8.