MERIDIAN 9

MERIDIAN 9 is an active satellite operated by Military Space Forces (VKS) (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2020-02-20 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Meridian No. 19L launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 2,084 km and 38,271 km with an inclination of 65.5°. 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 0.6815 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MERIDIAN 9 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MERIDIAN 9 orbits at an average altitude of 20,178 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 9’s average altitude, there are currently 105 active payloads and 13 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 65.5°, MERIDIAN 9 passes over latitudes between 65.5°N and 65.5°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 1,547 active satellites in total, of which 56 share a similar altitude band with MERIDIAN 9.