OPS 6630 (2)

OPS 6630 (2) is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1973-11-10 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, United States on the HEXAGON SV-7 launch. After more than 53 years in orbit, it is one of the longest-surviving objects in the space catalogue. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 1,414 km and 1,455 km with an inclination of 96.9°. It travels at approximately 25,726 km/h (7.15 km/s), completing one full orbit every 115 minutes — that’s roughly 12.57 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is thousands of years. Orbital Radar tracks OPS 6630 (2) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OPS 6630 (2) orbits at an average altitude of 1,435 km in the uppermost reaches of Low Earth Orbit. At this altitude, orbital decay is effectively zero without active deorbiting, and coverage footprints are significantly larger than lower LEO, though at the cost of higher latency. Within ±50 km of OPS 6630 (2)’s average altitude, there are currently 488 active payloads and 297 tracked debris or rocket body fragments. With an inclination of 96.9°, OPS 6630 (2) passes over latitudes between 96.9°N and 96.9°S, providing near-global coverage including the polar regions. Polar and near-polar orbits are used for reconnaissance, weather monitoring and Earth-observation missions that need to image every part of the planet. United States operates approximately 13,206 active satellites in total, of which 20 share a similar altitude band with OPS 6630 (2).