OBJECT A

OBJECT A (NORAD ID 56731) is a space object catalogued under China, launched on 2023-05-21 from Jiuquan, China on the Aomen Kexue launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 436 km and 447 km with an inclination of 41.0°. It travels at approximately 27,537 km/h (7.65 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.41 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 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 442 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of OBJECT A’s average altitude, there are currently 7,650 active payloads and 152 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 43.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 41.0°, OBJECT A passes over latitudes between 41.0°N and 41.0°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. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 85 share a similar altitude band with OBJECT A.