PRAETORIAN SDA_506

MilitaryLEOPolarUnited States

PRAETORIAN SDA_506 is a military satellite, as listed in Jonathan McDowell's GCAT catalogue, with ownership listed as United States in CelesTrak's catalogue, currently in low Earth orbit, around 938 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 104 minutes at an inclination of 81.5°. It was launched in 2026. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 100064
COSPAR ID: 2026-163F
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 938 km
Apogee (highest): 961 km
Inclination: 81.48°
Orbital period: 104 min
Launch year: 2026
Owner (CelesTrak): United States

Orbital data updated: 2026-10-21 · from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

Who operates it

United StatesLIVEActive

Communications

Official description

“These SVs will enhance the tracking of advanced missile threats by providing secure, low-latency, beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) tactical communication links, delivering a resilient, optically-connected network of integrated capabilities to the warfighter at mission-relevant speed.”

Space Development Agency, 16 Jul 2026

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for communications and records it as active (17 Oct 2026).

Data: GCAT · CC BY 4.0 Class, mission and status adapted from GCAT by Jonathan McDowell, CC BY 4.0, data update 17 Oct 2026.

Military satellites, counted and explained →

About LEO orbit

Low Earth Orbit. Up to 2,000 km altitude. Where most satellites live including the ISS (~420 km), Starlink (~550 km), and Earth observation. Orbital period roughly 90 minutes.