MOLA

MOLA is an active satellite operated by United States, launched on 2024-03-21 from Wallops Island, Virginia on the NROL-123 launch. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 384 km and 391 km with an inclination of 50.0°. It travels at approximately 27,647 km/h (7.68 km/s), completing one full orbit every 92 minutes — that’s roughly 15.60 orbits per day. Its near-circular orbit (eccentricity close to zero) means it maintains a very consistent altitude throughout each revolution. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is months to ~1 year. Orbital Radar tracks MOLA in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

MOLA orbits at an average altitude of 388 km in the lower reaches of Low Earth Orbit, where atmospheric drag is significant and orbital lifetimes are measured in months to a few years. This is the busiest corridor in space — home to crewed spacecraft, rapid-revisit imaging satellites and the densest part of the Starlink constellation. Within ±50 km of MOLA’s average altitude, there are currently 1,294 active payloads and 73 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1020. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 7.4% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 50.0°, MOLA passes over latitudes between 50.0°N and 50.0°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. United States operates approximately 12,413 active satellites in total, of which 1,152 share a similar altitude band with MOLA.