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BEIDOU-2 G5 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 38091)
Track BEIDOU-2 G5 (NORAD catalog number 38091) 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 2012, launched on the 8th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2012-008A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 5,319 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.08 km/s, BEIDOU-2 G5 flies a geosynchronous orbit roughly 35,786 km up: its 23.9-hour period matches Earth's rotation, but at 3.8° inclination it is not geostationary — seen from the ground it traces a daily figure-eight around a fixed longitude, swinging about 4° north and south of the equator. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0007). Its near-equatorial 3.8° inclination keeps it above the tropics at all times. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 69.1°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | geostationary/geosynchronous orbit (GEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~35,765 km × 35,820 km |
| Inclination | 3.77° |
| Orbital period | 1436.0 min (1.00 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00066 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2012-008A |
| NORAD catalog number | 38091 |
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
BEIDOU-2 G5 is part of China's BeiDou 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 BEIDOU-2 G5 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-2 G5 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 BEIDOU-2 G5 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 (NORAD 37948)
- BEIDOU-2 M3 (NORAD 38250)
- BEIDOU-2 M4 (NORAD 38251)
- COSMOS 2475 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37869)
- COSMOS 2477 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37868)
- COSMOS 2476 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37867)
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