YAOGAN-42 01

MilitaryLEOChina

YAOGAN-42 01 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 501 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 95 minutes at an inclination of 35.0°. It was launched in 2024. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 59395
COSPAR ID: 2024-063A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 501 km
Apogee (highest): 506 km
Inclination: 35.00°
Orbital period: 95 min
Launch year: 2024
Owner (CelesTrak): China

Orbital data updated: 2026-10-18 · from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

Who operates it

ChinaLIVEActive

Optical imaging

GCAT lists it as Yaogan 42 hao 01 xing.

Official description

“... successfully launched Yaogan-42 01, which entered its planned orbit; the launch was a complete success.”

Xinhua, 3 Apr 2024

azmth's translation · Show original

……成功将遥感四十二号01星发射升空，卫星顺利进入预定轨道，发射任务获得圆满成功。

It names no purpose.

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for optical 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.