GLOBAL-17

GLOBAL-17 is an active satellite operated by BlackSky Global (United States), launched on 2021-12-09 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, New Zealand on the Global-16/Global-17 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 386 km and 408 km with an inclination of 42.0°. It travels at approximately 27,627 km/h (7.67 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.57 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks GLOBAL-17 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GLOBAL-17 orbits at an average altitude of 397 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-17’s average altitude, there are currently 1,243 active payloads and 87 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 6.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 42.0°, GLOBAL-17 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 13,204 active satellites in total, of which 1,086 share a similar altitude band with GLOBAL-17.