BIRKELAND

Military*LEOSSOPolarNorway

BIRKELAND is a satellite whose own government says its armed forces or defence ministry own or run it, which GCAT classes as civil government, with ownership listed as Norway in CelesTrak's catalogue, currently in low Earth orbit, around 443 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 93 minutes at an inclination of 97.3°. It was launched in 2023. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 55015
COSPAR ID: 2023-001G
Type: Military*
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 443 km
Apogee (highest): 452 km
Inclination: 97.32°
Orbital period: 93 min
Launch year: 2023
Owner (CelesTrak): Norway

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

Who operates it

NetherlandsLIVEActive

Signals intelligence

Official description

The Netherlands Ministry of Defence says Birkeland and Huygens, its two MilSpace2 satellites, are experimental satellites of the Netherlands armed forces (24 Jun 2025).

Netherlands Ministry of Defence, 24 Jun 2025

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“De 4 SAR-satellieten zijn niet de eerste satellieten van de Nederlandse krijgsmacht, maar wel de eerste operationele satellieten. Eerder lanceerde defensie al 3 experimentele satellieten: In juni 2021 de eerste nanosatelliet: BRIK-II. In januari 2023 twee kleine satellieten: MilSpace2 (de Birkeland en de Huygens).”

“The 4 SAR satellites are not the first satellites of the Netherlands armed forces, but they are the first operational ones. Defence had already launched 3 experimental satellites: in June 2021 the first nanosatellite, BRIK-II; in January 2023 two small satellites, MilSpace2 (Birkeland and Huygens).”

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a civil government satellite for signals intelligence, lists its owners as National Aerospace Lab and Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, 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.

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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.