SHINSEI (MS-F2)

SHINSEI (MS-F2) is an active satellite operated by ISAS (Japan), launched on 1971-09-28 from Uchinoura Space Center, Japan on the MS-F2 launch. After more than 55 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 869 km and 1,860 km with an inclination of 32.0°. It travels at approximately 25,842 km/h (7.18 km/s), completing one full orbit every 113 minutes — that’s roughly 12.74 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks SHINSEI (MS-F2) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

SHINSEI (MS-F2) orbits at an average altitude of 1,365 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of SHINSEI (MS-F2)’s average altitude, there are currently 184 active payloads and 254 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 32.0°, SHINSEI (MS-F2) passes over latitudes between 32.0°N and 32.0°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. Japan operates approximately 209 active satellites in total, of which 3 share a similar altitude band with SHINSEI (MS-F2).