GECAM-A

GECAM-A is an active satellite operated by Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), launched on 2020-12-09 from Xichang, China. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 557 km and 572 km with an inclination of 29.0°. It travels at approximately 27,292 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 15.01 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks GECAM-A in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GECAM-A orbits at an average altitude of 565 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 GECAM-A’s average altitude, there are currently 3,201 active payloads and 462 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, ONEWEB-0050. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 18.5% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 29.0°, GECAM-A passes over latitudes between 29.0°N and 29.0°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 1,200 active satellites in total, of which 136 share a similar altitude band with GECAM-A.