YAOGAN-43 03A

MilitaryLEOChina

YAOGAN-43 03A 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 500 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: 61617
COSPAR ID: 2024-190A
Type: Military
Orbit: LEO
Perigee (lowest): 500 km
Apogee (highest): 507 km
Inclination: 34.99°
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

Communications (unconfirmed)

GCAT lists it as Yaogan 43-03-01.

Official description

“The Yaogan-43 group 03 satellites are mainly used to carry out tests of new low-orbit constellation system technology.”

Xinhua, 23 Oct 2024

azmth's translation · Show original

遥感四十三号03组卫星主要用于开展低轨星座系统新技术试验。

Independent assessment

GCAT classes it as a military satellite for communications (unconfirmed) 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.