OBJECT A

OBJECT A (NORAD ID 52716) is a space object catalogued under China, launched on 2022-05-20 from Jiuquan, China on the BSX-1/2 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 864 km and 893 km with an inclination of 86.0°. It travels at approximately 26,694 km/h (7.42 km/s), completing one full orbit every 103 minutes — that’s roughly 14.04 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks OBJECT A in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OBJECT A orbits at an average altitude of 879 km in the upper LEO band, where atmospheric drag is negligible and objects can persist for centuries to millennia. This altitude is used by broadband constellations like OneWeb and by scientific missions requiring stable orbits far from the densest debris bands. Within ±50 km of OBJECT A’s average altitude, there are currently 204 active payloads and 1,648 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 86.0°, OBJECT A passes over latitudes between 86.0°N and 86.0°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 114 share a similar altitude band with OBJECT A.