MERIDIAN 10

MERIDIAN 10 is an active satellite operated by VVKO VKS (Russia (CIS)), launched on 2022-03-22 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the Meridian No. 20L launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 2,095 km and 38,264 km with an inclination of 62.7°. 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 0.6811 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks MERIDIAN 10 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MERIDIAN 10 orbits at an average altitude of 20,180 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 10’s average altitude, there are currently 103 active payloads and 16 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 62.7°, MERIDIAN 10 passes over latitudes between 62.7°N and 62.7°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 1,536 active satellites in total, of which 54 share a similar altitude band with MERIDIAN 10.