OPS 9390

OPS 9390 is an active satellite operated by NRO / SAFSP (United States), launched on 1972-12-20 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, United States on the CANYON 5 launch. After more than 54 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 30,670 km and 40,881 km with an inclination of 8.9°. It travels at approximately 11,071 km/h (3.08 km/s), completing one full orbit every ~24 hours (geosynchronous) — that’s roughly 1.00 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.1211 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks OPS 9390 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OPS 9390 orbits at an average altitude of 35,776 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. Within ±50 km of OPS 9390’s average altitude, there are currently 738 active payloads and 61 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ASTRA 1N, GOES 16, TDRS 13. With an inclination of 8.9°, OPS 9390 passes over latitudes between 8.9°N and 8.9°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. United States operates approximately 13,276 active satellites in total, of which 157 share a similar altitude band with OPS 9390.