TIANPING-3A02

TIANPING-3A02 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2025-04-03 from Taiyuan, China. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 448 km and 783 km with an inclination of 43.0°. It travels at approximately 27,192 km/h (7.55 km/s), completing one full orbit every 97 minutes — that’s roughly 14.84 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~10–25 years. Orbital Radar tracks TIANPING-3A02 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

TIANPING-3A02 orbits at an average altitude of 616 km in the mid-LEO band, where atmospheric drag is minimal but radiation exposure remains manageable. Objects at this altitude persist for decades to centuries, making debris mitigation critical. This regime is popular for remote sensing constellations and scientific instruments that need stable, long-duration orbits. Within ±50 km of TIANPING-3A02’s average altitude, there are currently 1,556 active payloads and 740 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3090, STARLINK-3077. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 8.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 43.0°, TIANPING-3A02 passes over latitudes between 43.0°N and 43.0°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 1,219 active satellites in total, of which 134 share a similar altitude band with TIANPING-3A02.