GLOBAL-14

GLOBAL-14 is an active satellite operated by BlackSky Global (United States), launched on 2021-11-18 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, New Zealand on the Global-14/Global-15 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 380 km and 409 km with an inclination of 42.0°. It travels at approximately 27,633 km/h (7.68 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.58 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks GLOBAL-14 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GLOBAL-14 orbits at an average altitude of 395 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of GLOBAL-14’s average altitude, there are currently 1,390 active payloads and 78 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 42.0°, GLOBAL-14 passes over latitudes between 42.0°N and 42.0°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. United States operates approximately 13,340 active satellites in total, of which 1,260 share a similar altitude band with GLOBAL-14.