GEESAT 2-04

GEESAT 2-04 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2024-02-02 from Xichang, China. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 571 km and 580 km with an inclination of 50.0°. It travels at approximately 27,270 km/h (7.58 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.97 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 ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks GEESAT 2-04 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

GEESAT 2-04 orbits at an average altitude of 576 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 GEESAT 2-04’s average altitude, there are currently 3,104 active payloads and 515 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-2112, STARLINK-2722. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 17.8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 50.0°, GEESAT 2-04 passes over latitudes between 50.0°N and 50.0°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 178 share a similar altitude band with GEESAT 2-04.