AUREOLE 1

AUREOLE 1 is an active satellite operated by Southern SDB / CNES (France), launched on 1971-12-27 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia on the DS-U2-GKA No. 1 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 382 km and 1,400 km with an inclination of 74.0°. It travels at approximately 26,671 km/h (7.41 km/s), completing one full orbit every 103 minutes — that’s roughly 14.01 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~100–500 years. Orbital Radar tracks AUREOLE 1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

AUREOLE 1 orbits at an average altitude of 891 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 AUREOLE 1’s average altitude, there are currently 238 active payloads and 1,816 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 74.0°, AUREOLE 1 passes over latitudes between 74.0°N and 74.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. France operates approximately 124 active satellites in total.