ICEYE-X49

ICEYE-X49 is an active satellite operated by ICEYE (Finland), launched on 2024-12-21 from Vandenberg SFB, California on the Bandwagon-2 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 525 km and 526 km with an inclination of 45.0°. It travels at approximately 27,369 km/h (7.60 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 15.13 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 ICEYE-X49 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ICEYE-X49 orbits at an average altitude of 526 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 ICEYE-X49’s average altitude, there are currently 5,845 active payloads and 275 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1184, STARLINK-1276, STARLINK-1451. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 32.8% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 45.0°, ICEYE-X49 passes over latitudes between 45.0°N and 45.0°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. Finland operates approximately 28 active satellites in total, of which 12 share a similar altitude band with ICEYE-X49.