SHIJIAN-16 (SJ-16)

MilitaryLEOChina

SHIJIAN-16 (SJ-16) is a military satellite, as listed in Jonathan McDowell's GCAT catalogue, with ownership listed as China in CelesTrak's catalogue, currently in low Earth orbit, around 585 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 96 minutes at an inclination of 75.0°. It was launched in 2013. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 39358
COSPAR ID: 2013-057A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 585 km
Apogee (highest): 608 km
Inclination: 74.97°
Orbital period: 96 min
Launch year: 2013
Owner (CelesTrak): China

Orbital data updated: 2026-10-19 · from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

Who operates it

ChinaLIVEMission ended about Dec 2020

Signals intelligence (unconfirmed)

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for signals intelligence (unconfirmed) and records its mission as ended in about Dec 2020 (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.

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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.