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SWAS — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 25560)
Track SWAS (NORAD catalog number 25560) 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 1998, launched on the 71st orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 1998-071A).
Moving at about 7.60 km/s, SWAS flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 541 × 546 km, completing one revolution every 95.4 minutes — about 15.1 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0004). Inclined 69.9° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 70° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 15.7°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 2.58° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~541 km × 546 km |
| Inclination | 69.90° |
| Orbital period | 95.4 min (15.10 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00038 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 1998-071A |
| NORAD catalog number | 25560 |
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
SWAS 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 SWAS from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, SWAS 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 SWAS in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- SCD 2 (NORAD 25504)
- ORBCOMM FM27 (NORAD 25481)
- ORBCOMM FM20 (NORAD 25416)
- ORBCOMM FM19 (NORAD 25415)
- WESTPAC (NORAD 25398)
- TECHSAT 1B (GO-32) (NORAD 25397)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe