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NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 28474)
Track NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) (NORAD catalog number 28474) 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 2004, launched on the 45th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2004-045A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 16,006 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.94 km/s, NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 19,733–20,646 km altitude, taking about 12.0 hours per revolution (2.01 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0172). Inclined 55.1° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 55° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 321.6°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | medium Earth orbit (MEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~19,733 km × 20,646 km |
| Inclination | 55.08° |
| Orbital period | 718.0 min (2.01 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.01718 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-06 |
| COSPAR designation | 2004-045A |
| NORAD catalog number | 28474 |
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 Navigation group
NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) is part of the US GPS (NAVSTAR) fleet — one of 173 global-navigation satellites in the WatchSat catalog across GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou. GNSS spacecraft broadcast precise time signals from orbits around 20,000 km up; a phone fixes its position by comparing several of them at once. See the whole navigation group live in 3D.
Can you see NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) is far beyond unaided visibility — following satellites this high takes a telescope and good timing. You can still track it precisely in the live 3D view above, or check pass predictions for your location.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of NAVSTAR 56 (USA 180) in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- NAVSTAR 55 (USA 178) (NORAD 28361)
- NAVSTAR 54 (USA 177) (NORAD 28190)
- NAVSTAR 53 (USA 175) (NORAD 28129)
- NAVSTAR 57 (USA 183) (NORAD 28874)
- NAVSTAR 52 (USA 168) (NORAD 27704)
- NAVSTAR 51 (USA 166) (NORAD 27663)
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