OBJECT A

OBJECT A (NORAD ID 65945) is a space object catalogued under China, launched on 2025-10-13 from Jiuquan, China on the Shiyan 31 launch. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 488 km and 502 km with an inclination of 80.0°. It travels at approximately 27,430 km/h (7.62 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 15.24 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks OBJECT A in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OBJECT A orbits at an average altitude of 495 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 OBJECT A’s average altitude, there are currently 9,168 active payloads and 233 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1047. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 52.6% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 80.0°, OBJECT A passes over latitudes between 80.0°N and 80.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. China operates approximately 1,218 active satellites in total, of which 190 share a similar altitude band with OBJECT A.