Overview
Most LEO satellites are launched for commercial use (75.1%) and for the purpose of communications (62.1%).
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Insights from the LEO satellite dataset
Which year saw the most LEO satellites launched?
Who operates or owns the most LEO satellites?
Which country operates or owns the most LEO satellites?
Which rocket has delivered the most LEO satellites to space?
Which launch site has launched the most LEO satellites to space?
What is the most common type of satellite orbit?
Apogee, Perigee & Period
Satellite Mass
Highlights on some of the commercial satellites:
Third heaviest satellite launched by USAF Space Test Program into space at 10 kg
Designed for technology development, STPSat-4 is a military satellite operated by USAF Space Test Program (USA).
Constructed by USAFSpace Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC)NASA (USA), it was launched into space on 28 January 2020 using Manual deployment as the launch vehicle from International Space Station. STPSat-4 orbits around the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite.
Designed with an operational lifetime of 1 years, STPSat-4 has a launch mass of 10 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 1998-067QY and NORAD ID 45043.
With an orbital eccentricity of 5.16E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 415km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 422km. It takes 93 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 52 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
IRIS.
A government satellite, IRIS is operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA for the purpose of space science.
Constructed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center (ATC) (USA), it was launched into space using L1011 as the launch vehicle from Vandenberg AFB on 28 June 2013. IRIS orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
With a launch mass of 236kg and a dry mass of 678kg, IRIS is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 2 years. It orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2013-033A and NORAD ID 39197.
Using its self-produced usable power of 50 watts, IRIS orbits at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
The satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 620km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 664km. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 3.14E-03 and it takes 98 minutes to orbit the Earth.
Operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of USA, PACE-1 is a government satellite launched for the purpose of technology demonstration.
Constructed by NASA Ames Research Center (USA), it was launched into space using Falcon 9 as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral on 30 June 2021. PACE-1 orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
PACE-1 has a launch mass of 10 kg and orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-059G and NORAD ID 48909.
Taking 94 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 524km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 536km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 8.70E-04 and it orbits at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Heaviest satellite launched by Globalstar into space at 700 kg
Operated by Globalstar of USA, Globalstar M074 is a commercial satellite launched for the purpose of communications.
Constructed by Thales Alenia Space (Italy), it was launched into space using Soyuz-Fregat as the launch vehicle from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 19 October 2010. Globalstar M074 orbits around the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite.
Designed with an operational lifetime of 15 years, Globalstar M074 has a launch mass of 700 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 2010-054B and NORAD ID 37189.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.28E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 1,413km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 1,415km. It takes 114 minutes to orbit the Earth.
With generated usable power of 1700 watts, Globalstar M074 orbits at an inclination of 52 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
A commercial satellite, Beijing-3 is operated by 21st Century Aerospace Technology (21AT) of China for the purpose of earth observation (Optical Imaging).
Constructed by Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CASC) (China), it was launched into space using Long March 2D as the launch vehicle from Taiyuan Launch Center on 11 June 2021. Beijing-3 orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
Beijing-3 navigates with the COSPAR ID 2021-050A and NORAD ID 48840.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.09E-03, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 487km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 502km. It takes 95 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
SMAP.
Designed for earth observation (Earth Science), SMAP is a government satellite operated by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (USA).
Delivered via Delta 2 (launch vehicle) from Vandenberg AFB, it was launched into space on 31 January 2015 and orbits the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite. SMAP was constructed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA) (USA).
SMAP is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 3 years. It orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2015-003A and NORAD ID 40376.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.85E-03, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 660km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 686km. It takes 98 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Heaviest satellite launched by SpaceX into space at 260 kg
Operated by SpaceX of USA, Starlink-3003 is a commercial satellite launched for the purpose of communications.
Constructed by SpaceX (USA), it was launched into space on 30 May 2021 using Falcon 9 as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral. Starlink-3003 orbits around the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite.
With a launch mass of 260kg, Starlink-3003 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 4 years. It orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-059A and NORAD ID 48879.
With an orbital eccentricity of 1.52E-03, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 515km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 536km. It takes 95 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Heaviest satellite launched by EUMETSAT (European Organization For The Exploitation Of Meteorological Satellites) into space at 2,300 kg
Operated by EUMETSAT (European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) of ESA, Sentinel 3A is a government satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Earth Science).
A sun-synchronous LEO satellite, it was launched into space using Rokot as the launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 16 February 2016. Sentinel 3A was constructed by Thales Alenia Space (France).
Designated with COSPAR ID 2016-011A and NORAD ID 41335, Sentinel 3A is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 7 years. It has a launch mass of 2,300 kg and dry mass of 2,146 kg.
Taking 101 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 802km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 804km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.39E-04 and it orbits at an inclination of 99 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
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