Overview
The bulk of Australia's satellites are from commercial communications companies Fleet Space Technologies, Optus Communications and NBN Co as well as the University of New South Wales (civil/military research).. These are the 14 satellites operated or owned by organizations in Australia, based on the interactive table representation of the UCS Satellite Database compiled by the Union of Concerned Scientist (UCS).
Most of these satellites from Australia are launched for commercial use (71.4%) and for the purpose of communications (57.1%).
Interactive Chart
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Insights from Australia's Satellite Dataset
Which year saw the most satellites launched for Australia?
Who operates or owns the most satellites in Australia?
Which rocket has delivered the most satellites from Australia to space?
Which launch site has launched the most satellites from Australia to space?
What is the most common type of satellite orbit?
Apogee, Perigee & Period
Designed for technology development, RAAF M2 Pathfinder is a civil and military satellite operated by University of New South Wales and Department of Defence (Australia).
Constructed by University of New South Wales (Australia), it was launched into space on 13 June 2020 using Electron as the launch vehicle from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1. RAAF M2 Pathfinder orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
RAAF M2 Pathfinder has a launch mass of 9 kg and orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2020-037E and NORAD ID 45727.
Taking 97 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 586km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 602km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.15E-03 and it orbits at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Compare RAAF M2 Pathfinder with OneWeb-0020 from United Kingdom.
Compare RAAF M2 Pathfinder with International Space Station from Multinational.
Second heaviest satellite launched by Australia into space at 6,405 kg
Designed for communications, Sky Muster 2 is a commercial satellite operated by NBN Co (operated by Optus) (Australia).
Delivered via Ariane 5 (launch vehicle) from Guiana Space Center, it was launched into space on 5 October 2016 and orbits the Earth as a GEO satellite. Sky Muster 2 was constructed by Space Systems/Loral (USA).
Sky Muster 2 has a launch mass of 6,405 kg and is expected to have a operational lifetime of 15 years. It navigates with the COSPAR ID 2016-060B and NORAD ID 41794.
Taking 1,436 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 35,790km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,798km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 9.49E-05.
With generated usable power of 16400 watts, Sky Muster 2 orbits along the longitude of 145 degrees.
Heaviest satellite launched by Optus Communications (Parent: Singapore Telecom) into space at 3,270 kg
A commercial satellite, Optus 10 is operated by Optus Communications (Parent: Singapore Telecom) of Australia for the purpose of communications.
Constructed by Space Systems/Loral (USA), it was launched into space using Ariane 5 ECA as the launch vehicle from Guiana Space Center on 11 September 2014. Optus 10 orbits around the Earth as a GEO satellite.
Designated with COSPAR ID 2014-054A and NORAD ID 40146, Optus 10 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 15 years. It has a launch mass of 3,270 kg.
Taking 1,436 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 35,772km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,802km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 3.56E-04 and it orbits along the Earth longitude of 164 degrees.
Heaviest satellite launched by Fleet Space Technologies into space at 4 kg
A commercial satellite, Centauri-1 is operated by Fleet Space Technologies of Australia for the purpose of communications.
Constructed by Pumpkin Space Systems (USA), it was launched into space using PSLV as the launch vehicle from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 29 November 2018. Centauri-1 orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
Centauri-1 has a launch mass of 4 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 2018-099BD and NORAD ID 43809.
Taking 95 minutes to orbit the Earth, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 476km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 500km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.75E-03 and it orbits at an inclination of 97 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Get more insights from these satellite datasets
Full datasets: All satellites by launch date | The Heaviest Satellites That Are Launched to Space
By Use Type: Civil-use satellites | Commercial satellites | Government satellites | Military satellites
By Country: USA | UK | France | Germany | Japan | China | Russia | Australia | Canada
By Orbit Class/Type: LEO satellites | MEO satellites | GEO satellites | Elliptical orbit | Polar orbit | Equatorial orbit | Non-polar inclined orbit | Sun-synchronous orbit | Molniya orbit
By Operators: SpaceX | EUTELSAT | SES | European Space Agency (ESA) | Planet Labs | Iridium | Spire Global | OneWeb | Swarm Technologies | NASA - Dataset of Satellites Launched (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) | Canadian Space Agency (CSA) - Dataset of Satellites Launched
By Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 | Ariane 5 | Ariane 5 ECA | Delta 2 | Dnepr | Electron | Falcon Heavy | Long March 2C | Long March 2D | Long March 3B | Pegasus | Proton | Proton M | PSLV | Rokot | Soyuz | Soyuz-2.1b | Vega
By Launch Vehicle: Cape Canaveral | Baikonur Cosmodrome | Guiana Space Center | International Space Station | Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center | Plesetsk Cosmodrome | Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 | Satish Dhawan Space Centre | Taiyuan Launch Center | Vandenberg AFB | Xichang Satellite Launch Center | Boeing Satellite Systems | Airbus Defense and Space | EADS Astrium | Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems | Space Systems/Loral | Surrey Satellite Technology | Technical University Berlin | Thales Alenia Space