ISS (UNITY)

ISS (UNITY) is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 1998-12-04 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the OV-105 ISS launch. With over 28 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 415 km and 421 km with an inclination of 51.6°. It travels at approximately 27,585 km/h (7.66 km/s), completing one full orbit every 93 minutes — that’s roughly 15.49 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. It is part of the Station constellation group. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks ISS (UNITY) in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

ISS (UNITY) orbits at an average altitude of 418 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of ISS (UNITY)’s average altitude, there are currently 2,777 active payloads and 123 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 15.9% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 51.6°, ISS (UNITY) passes over latitudes between 51.6°N and 51.6°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total, of which 2,573 share a similar altitude band with ISS (UNITY).