DELTA 4 DEMO SPACECRAFT

DELTA 4 DEMO SPACECRAFT is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 2004-12-21 from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the HLV-OLDSP launch. With over 22 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) at altitudes between 17,849 km and 36,483 km with an inclination of 13.9°. It travels at approximately 12,411 km/h (3.45 km/s), completing one full orbit every 16 hours 59 minutes — that’s roughly 1.41 orbits per day. Its orbital eccentricity of 0.2778 gives it a noticeably elliptical path, with significant altitude variation between perigee and apogee. Orbital Radar tracks DELTA 4 DEMO SPACECRAFT in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

DELTA 4 DEMO SPACECRAFT orbits at an average altitude of 27,166 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 13.9°, DELTA 4 DEMO SPACECRAFT passes over latitudes between 13.9°N and 13.9°S, concentrating coverage over equatorial and near-equatorial regions. Low-inclination orbits maximise revisit rates over specific tropical zones. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total.