TYCHE

Military*LEOSSOPolarUnited Kingdom

TYCHE is a satellite whose own government says its armed forces or defence ministry own or run it, which GCAT classes as commercial, with ownership listed as United Kingdom in CelesTrak's catalogue, currently in low Earth orbit, around 494 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 94 minutes at an inclination of 97.4°. It was launched in 2024. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 60496
COSPAR ID: 2024-149AE
Type: Military*
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 494 km
Apogee (highest): 496 km
Inclination: 97.37°
Orbital period: 94 min
Launch year: 2024
Owner (CelesTrak): United Kingdom

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

Who operates it

United KingdomLIVEActive

Optical imaging

Official description

The UK Ministry of Defence says it fully owns this satellite (17 Aug 2024).

UK Ministry of Defence, 17 Aug 2024

Show original

“Tyche is the first satellite to be fully owned by the Ministry of Defence.”

Registered with the UN

The United Kingdom's UN registration names as owner or operator “Surrey Satellite Technology Limited” (ST/SG/SER.E/1223, 7 Oct 2024).

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a commercial satellite for optical imaging, lists its owner as United Kingdom Space Command, 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.