YAOGAN-46

YAOGAN-46 is an active satellite operated by PLA Strategic Support Force (China), launched on 2025-11-03 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 7,490 km and 7,503 km with an inclination of 20.1°. It travels at approximately 19,301 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-46 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

YAOGAN-46 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-46’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 20.1°, YAOGAN-46 passes over latitudes between 20.1°N and 20.1°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 2 share a similar altitude band with YAOGAN-46.