YAOGAN-33 03

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarChina

YAOGAN-33 03 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 698 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 99 minutes at an inclination of 98.2°. It was launched in 2023. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 57797
COSPAR ID: 2023-136A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 698 km
Apogee (highest): 710 km
Inclination: 98.20°
Orbital period: 99 min
Launch year: 2023
Owner (CelesTrak): China

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

Who operates it

ChinaLIVEActive

Radar imaging

Official description

“Yaogan-33 03 is mainly used for scientific experiments, land resource survey, agricultural yield estimation, disaster prevention and mitigation and similar fields.”

Xinhua, 7 Sep 2023

azmth's translation · Show original

遥感三十三号03星主要用于科学试验、国土资源普查、农产品估产及防灾减灾等领域。

“Yaogan-33 03, launched this time, is mainly used for scientific experiments, land resource survey, agricultural yield estimation, disaster prevention and mitigation and similar fields.”

Xinhua, 8 Sep 2023

azmth's translation · Show original

本次发射的遥感三十三号03星主要用于科学试验、国土资源普查、农产品估产及防灾减灾等领域。

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for radar imaging 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.