YAOGAN 45

YAOGAN 45 is an active satellite operated by PLA Strategic Support Force (China), launched on 2025-09-09 from Wenchang, China. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 7,486 km and 7,508 km with an inclination of 19.9°. It travels at approximately 19,300 km/h (5.36 km/s), completing one full orbit every 4 hours 31 minutes — that’s roughly 5.31 orbits per day. Orbital Radar tracks YAOGAN 45 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

YAOGAN 45 orbits at an average altitude of 7,497 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 YAOGAN 45’s average altitude, there are currently 3 active payloads and 11 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. This is a relatively sparse altitude band, containing less than 1% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 19.9°, YAOGAN 45 passes over latitudes between 19.9°N and 19.9°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 2 share a similar altitude band with YAOGAN 45.