LONGJIANG 3

LONGJIANG 3 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2023-06-09 from Jiuquan, China on the Longjiang-3 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 450 km and 454 km with an inclination of 49.1°. It travels at approximately 27,516 km/h (7.64 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.38 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 LONGJIANG 3 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

LONGJIANG 3 orbits at an average altitude of 452 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 LONGJIANG 3’s average altitude, there are currently 9,112 active payloads and 145 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1047. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 51.1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 49.1°, LONGJIANG 3 passes over latitudes between 49.1°N and 49.1°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 1,248 active satellites in total, of which 133 share a similar altitude band with LONGJIANG 3.