PELICAN-1

PELICAN-1 is an active satellite operated by Planet Labs (United States), launched on 2023-11-11 from Vandenberg SFB, California. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 350 km and 351 km with an inclination of 97.4°. It travels at approximately 27,723 km/h (7.70 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.73 orbits per day. Its near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit means it passes over any given point on Earth at approximately the same local solar time, ideal for consistent Earth observation lighting conditions. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. It is part of the Planet constellation group. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks PELICAN-1 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

PELICAN-1 orbits at an average altitude of 351 km in a sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), a specialised subset of LEO where the orbital plane precesses to maintain a constant angle relative to the Sun. This provides consistent lighting conditions on every pass — essential for Earth observation, weather monitoring and environmental science. Within ±50 km of PELICAN-1’s average altitude, there are currently 1,140 active payloads and 41 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1020, STARLINK-1036, STARLINK-1043. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 6.5% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 97.4°, PELICAN-1 passes over latitudes between 97.4°N and 97.4°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. United States operates approximately 12,339 active satellites in total, of which 1,058 share a similar altitude band with PELICAN-1.