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SORCE — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 27651)
Track SORCE (NORAD catalog number 27651) 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 2003, launched on the 4th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2003-004A).
Moving at about 7.60 km/s, SORCE flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 548 × 574 km, completing one revolution every 95.7 minutes — about 15.0 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0019). Its 40.0° inclination keeps its ground track over the tropics and lower mid-latitudes. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 154.3°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 5.70° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~548 km × 574 km |
| Inclination | 39.99° |
| Orbital period | 95.7 min (15.04 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00187 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2003-004A |
| NORAD catalog number | 27651 |
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
SORCE 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 SORCE from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, SORCE 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 SORCE in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- CORIOLIS (NORAD 27640)
- NIMIQ 2 (NORAD 27632)
- LATINSAT A (NORAD 27612)
- USA 167 (NORAD 27691)
- SAUDISAT 1C (SO-50) (NORAD 27607)
- LATINSAT B (NORAD 27606)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe