ARKTIKA-M 1

ARKTIKA-M 1 is an active satellite operated by Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2021-02-28 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 822 km and 39,532 km with an inclination of 63.3°. 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 0.7291 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks ARKTIKA-M 1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ARKTIKA-M 1 orbits at an average altitude of 20,177 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 ARKTIKA-M 1’s average altitude, there are currently 103 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 63.3°, ARKTIKA-M 1 passes over latitudes between 63.3°N and 63.3°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 1,286 active satellites in total, of which 56 share a similar altitude band with ARKTIKA-M 1.