Overview
Most military satellites are launched for the purpose of earth observation (49.6%).Most military satellites are launched for the purpose of earth observation (49.6%).Majority of these satellites are LEO satellites, with around 286 (71.0%) launched so far.
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Insights from the military satellite dataset
Which year saw the most military satellites launched?
Who operates or owns the most military satellites?
Which country operates or owns the most military satellites?
Which rocket has delivered the most military satellites to space?
Which launch site has launched the most military satellites to space?
What is the most common type of satellite orbit?
Apogee, Perigee & Period
Satellite Mass
Highlights on some of the military satellites:
A military satellite, ANASIS-II is operated by Agency for Defense Development of South Korea for the purpose of communications.
Delivered via Falcon 9 (launch vehicle) from Cape Canaveral, it was launched into space on 20 July 2020 and orbits the Earth as a GEO satellite. ANASIS-II was constructed by Airbus Defense and Space (France/UK/Germany/Spain).
ANASIS-II is expected to have a operational lifetime of 15 years. It navigates with the COSPAR ID 2020-048A and NORAD ID 45920.
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 35,781km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 35,792km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.30E-04 and it orbits along the Earth longitude of 116 degrees.
Aerocube 14A is a military satellite operated by Aerospace Corporation (USA) for the purpose of technology development.
Constructed by Aerospace Corporation (USA), it was launched into space on 31 January 2020 using Nanorack Deployer as the launch vehicle from Cygnus. Aerocube 14A orbits around the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite.
Aerocube 14A navigates with the COSPAR ID 2019-071D and NORAD ID 45114.
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 459km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 474km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.10E-03 and it orbits at an inclination of 52 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Second heaviest satellite launched into space at 20,000 kg
Operated by National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) of USA, USA 314 is a military satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Optical Imaging).
Delivered via Delta 4 Heavy (launch vehicle) from Vandenberg AFB, it was launched into space on 26 April 2021 and orbits the Earth as a sun-synchronous LEO satellite. USA 314 was constructed by Lockheed Martin (USA).
Designated with COSPAR ID 2021-032A and NORAD ID 48247, USA 314 is designed to operate in space for a lifetime of 5 years. It has a launch mass of 20,000 kg.
Taking 98 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 758km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 1.67E-02 and it orbits at an inclination of 98 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Yaogan 30-9-1 is a military satellite operated by Chinese Ministry of National Defense (China) for the purpose of earth observation (Electronic Intelligence).
Constructed by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) (China), it was launched into space on 18 June 2021 using Long March 2C as the launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Yaogan 30-9-1 orbits around the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite.
Yaogan 30-9-1 orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-055A and NORAD ID 48860.
With an orbital eccentricity of 6.46E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 592km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 601km. It takes 96 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 35 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Heaviest satellite launched by DoD And US Navy into space at 6,804 kg
A military satellite, MUOS-2 is operated by DoD and US Navy of USA for the purpose of communications.
Constructed by Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space (USA), it was launched into space using Atlas 5 as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral on 19 July 2013. MUOS-2 orbits around the Earth as a GEO satellite.
Designed with an operational lifetime of 12 years, MUOS-2 has a launch mass of 6,804 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 2013-036A and NORAD ID 39206.
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 35,550km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 36,023km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 5.61E-03.
MUOS-2 orbits along the longitude of -100 degrees at an inclination of 4 degrees.
Second heaviest satellite launched by Air Force Research Laboratory into space at 20 kg
A military satellite, Monolith is operated by Air Force Research Laboratory of USA for the purpose of technology development.
Delivered via Electron (launch vehicle) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, it was launched into space on 29 July 2021 and orbits the Earth as a non-polar inclined LEO satellite. Monolith was constructed by Space Dynamics Laboratory, Utah State University (USA).
Monolith has a launch mass of 20 kg and orbits around the Earth with the COSPAR ID 2021-068A and NORAD ID 49052.
The satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 598km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 609km. The eccentricity of the orbit is 7.89E-04 and it orbits at an inclination of 37 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
Second heaviest satellite launched by Russia into space at 6,500 kg
Operated by Ministry of Defense of Russia, Cosmos 2550 is a military satellite launched for the purpose of earth observation (Radar Imaging and Electronic Intelligence).
Constructed by KB Arsenal, RKTs Progress (Russia), it was launched into space using Soyuz 2.1b as the launch vehicle on 25 June 2021. Cosmos 2550 orbits around the Earth as a polar LEO satellite.
Designed with an operational lifetime of 5 years, Cosmos 2550 has a launch mass of 6,500 kg and navigates with the COSPAR ID 2021-056A and NORAD ID 48865.
With an orbital eccentricity of 8.62E-04, the satellite's perigee, which is the point of the orbit closest to the Earth's center of mass, is 587km while its apogee, which is the point of the orbit farthest from the Earth's center of mass, is 599km. It takes 96 minutes to orbit the Earth at an inclination of 35 degrees to the equatorial plane of the Earth.
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.
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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