SHIKONGXING 01

SHIKONGXING 01 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2025-09-24 from YSLA. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 580 km and 598 km with an inclination of 50.0°. It travels at approximately 27,244 km/h (7.57 km/s), completing one full orbit every 96 minutes — that’s roughly 14.93 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks SHIKONGXING 01 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

SHIKONGXING 01 orbits at an average altitude of 589 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 SHIKONGXING 01’s average altitude, there are currently 3,189 active payloads and 598 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ONEWEB-0050, STARLINK-3005, STARLINK-3090. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 18.3% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 50.0°, SHIKONGXING 01 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 1,219 active satellites in total, of which 175 share a similar altitude band with SHIKONGXING 01.