OBJECT YL

OBJECT YL (NORAD ID 69796) is a space object catalogued under Unknown, launched on 1998-11-20 from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on the 77KM No. 17501 launch. With over 28 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. Independent catalogue analysis identifies this object as LeopardSat-1, attributed to Cincinnati. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 378 km and 392 km with an inclination of 51.6°. It travels at approximately 27,652 km/h (7.68 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.61 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks OBJECT YL in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

OBJECT YL orbits at an average altitude of 385 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of OBJECT YL’s average altitude, there are currently 1,324 active payloads and 67 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include ISS (ZARYA), STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 51.6°, OBJECT YL passes over latitudes between 51.6°N and 51.6°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements.