DRO-A

DRO-A is an active satellite operated by China, launched on 2024-03-13 from Xichang, China on the DRO-A/DRO-B launch. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 282,181 km and 787,508 km with an inclination of 28.6°. It travels at approximately 3,089 km/h (0.86 km/s), completing one full orbit every 1100.7 hours — that’s roughly 0.02 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.4668 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. At geostationary altitude, there is no meaningful atmospheric drag — this object will remain in orbit indefinitely unless actively deorbited. Orbital Radar tracks DRO-A in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DRO-A orbits at an average altitude of 534,845 km in Medium Earth Orbit, the region between LEO and GEO (2,000–35,786 km). MEO’s higher altitude gives each satellite a much larger ground footprint than LEO, meaning fewer spacecraft are needed for global coverage — but signal latency is higher and radiation from the Van Allen belts is a significant design constraint. With an inclination of 28.6°, DRO-A passes over latitudes between 28.6°N and 28.6°S, covering the tropical and temperate zones where most of the world’s population resides. Low-to-mid inclination orbits are efficient to reach from equatorial and mid-latitude launch sites. China operates approximately 1,221 active satellites in total.