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BEIDOU-2 G6 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 38953)
Track BEIDOU-2 G6 (NORAD catalog number 38953) 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 59th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2012-059A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 5,073 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.08 km/s, BEIDOU-2 G6 flies a geosynchronous orbit roughly 35,786 km up: its 23.9-hour period matches Earth's rotation, but at 4.6° inclination it is not geostationary — seen from the ground it traces a daily figure-eight around a fixed longitude, swinging about 5° north and south of the equator. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0007). Its near-equatorial 4.6° inclination keeps it above the tropics at all times. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 72.6°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | geostationary/geosynchronous orbit (GEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~35,765 km × 35,823 km |
| Inclination | 4.62° |
| Orbital period | 1436.1 min (1.00 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00068 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2012-059A |
| NORAD catalog number | 38953 |
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 G6 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 G6 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-2 G6 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 G6 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- GSAT0103 (GALILEO-FM3) (NORAD 38857)
- NAVSTAR 67 (USA 239) (NORAD 38833)
- GSAT-10 (NORAD 38779)
- BEIDOU-2 M6 (NORAD 38775)
- COSMOS 2485 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 39155)
- NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) (NORAD 39166)
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