DEAR-5

DEAR-5 is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2025-12-13 from Jiuquan, China. As a relatively recent addition to the catalogue, its orbital elements are well-characterised. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 500 km and 526 km with an inclination of 41.4°. It travels at approximately 27,394 km/h (7.61 km/s), completing one full orbit every 95 minutes — that’s roughly 15.18 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~3–10 years. Orbital Radar tracks DEAR-5 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DEAR-5 orbits at an average altitude of 513 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 DEAR-5’s average altitude, there are currently 8,917 active payloads and 266 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1017, STARLINK-1039, STARLINK-1184. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 51.2% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 41.4°, DEAR-5 passes over latitudes between 41.4°N and 41.4°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 217 share a similar altitude band with DEAR-5.