SHIYAN-23 (SY-23)

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarChina

SHIYAN-23 (SY-23) 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 611 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 97 minutes at an inclination of 97.8°. It was launched in 2024. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 59728
COSPAR ID: 2024-089A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 611 km
Apogee (highest): 617 km
Inclination: 97.78°
Orbital period: 97 min
Launch year: 2024
Owner (CelesTrak): China

Orbital data updated: 2026-10-15 · from CelesTrak, refreshed every 2 hours.

Who operates it

ChinaLIVEActive

Technology test

GCAT lists it as Shiyan 23 Weixing.

Official description

“The Shiyan-23 satellite is mainly used for space environment detection.”

Xinhua, 12 May 2024

azmth's translation · Show original

试验二十三号卫星主要用于空间环境探测。

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for technology testing 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.