SPAINSAT NG II

SPAINSAT NG II is an active satellite operated by Spain, launched on 2025-10-24 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) at altitudes between 3,880 km and 69,800 km with an inclination of 13.8°. It travels at approximately 10,934 km/h (3.04 km/s), completing one full orbit every 24.8 hours — that’s roughly 0.97 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.7628 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 SPAINSAT NG II in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

SPAINSAT NG II follows a Highly Elliptical Orbit, sweeping between 3,880 km (perigee) and 69,800 km (apogee). It spends most of its 24.8 hours orbital period near apogee, effectively loitering over a region of interest before rapidly sweeping through perigee — a profile used for high-latitude communications (Molniya orbits), early-warning systems and magnetospheric science. Within ±50 km of SPAINSAT NG II’s average altitude, there are currently 7 active payloads and 2 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 13.8°, SPAINSAT NG II passes over latitudes between 13.8°N and 13.8°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. Spain operates approximately 53 active satellites in total.