GAOFEN-12 05

MilitaryLEOSSOPolarChina

GAOFEN-12 05 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 633 km altitude. It completes one orbit of Earth roughly every 97 minutes at an inclination of 97.9°. It was launched in 2024. Track its live position and see when it passes over your location on azmth.

Orbital data

NORAD ID: 61571
COSPAR ID: 2024-186A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 633 km
Apogee (highest): 634 km
Inclination: 97.91°
Orbital period: 97 min
Launch year: 2024
Owner (CelesTrak): China

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

Who operates it

ChinaLIVEActive

Radar imaging

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.