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FORTE — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 24920)
Track FORTE (NORAD catalog number 24920) live on the WatchSat interactive 3D globe above. Its position is propagated in real time from the latest CelesTrak two-line element set using the SGP4/SDP4 orbital model — the same math professional trackers run. It has been on orbit since 1997, launched on the 47th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 1997-047A).
Moving at about 7.47 km/s, FORTE flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 790 × 821 km, completing one revolution every 100.8 minutes — about 14.3 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0021). Inclined 70.0° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 70° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 188.9°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 2.26° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~790 km × 821 km |
| Inclination | 69.95° |
| Orbital period | 100.8 min (14.28 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00214 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 1997-047A |
| NORAD catalog number | 24920 |
This page's orbital elements come from the CelesTrak catalog of 2026-09-08. The live 3D view above fetches its own current CelesTrak data when the page opens, through an edge cache that refreshes roughly every 30 minutes.
About the Other Active Satellites group
FORTE is one of 4,471 active satellites in WatchSat's general catalog — the broad population of Earth-observation, communications, science, amateur-radio and technology spacecraft outside the giant broadband constellations. Browse all other active satellites live in 3D.
Can you see FORTE from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, FORTE is visible only around dawn and dusk, when your sky is dark but the satellite is still sunlit — and whether you can spot it depends on its size and reflectivity. See pass predictions for your location for when it is above your horizon and sunlit.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of FORTE in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- USA 134 (NORAD 25019)
- ORBCOMM FM06 (NORAD 25118)
- INMARSAT 3-F5 (NORAD 25153)
- ORBCOMM FM04 (NORAD 25159)
- CELESTIS-02 & TAURUS R/B (NORAD 25160)
- INMARSAT 3-F3 (NORAD 24674)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe