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NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 39166)
Track NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) (NORAD catalog number 39166) 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 2013, launched on the 23rd orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2013-023A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 9,838 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.93 km/s, NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 19,807–20,572 km altitude, taking about 12.0 hours per revolution (2.01 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0144). Inclined 54.4° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 54° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 263.9°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | medium Earth orbit (MEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~19,807 km × 20,572 km |
| Inclination | 54.42° |
| Orbital period | 718.0 min (2.01 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.01439 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-10-19 |
| COSPAR designation | 2013-023A |
| NORAD catalog number | 39166 |
This page's orbital elements come from the CelesTrak catalog of 2026-10-23. 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 68 (USA 242) is part of the US GPS (NAVSTAR) fleet — one of 156 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 68 (USA 242) from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) 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 the “When can I see it?” panel in the live view.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of NAVSTAR 68 (USA 242) in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- COSMOS 2485 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 39155)
- BEIDOU-2 G6 (NORAD 38953)
- GSAT0103 (GALILEO-FM3) (NORAD 38857)
- NAVSTAR 67 (USA 239) (NORAD 38833)
- NAVSTAR 69 (USA 248) (NORAD 39533)
- BEIDOU-2 M6 (NORAD 38775)
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