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BEIDOU-3S M2S — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 40748)
Track BEIDOU-3S M2S (NORAD catalog number 40748) 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 2015, launched on the 37th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2015-037A). It went up together with 1 other satellite from that launch still in the active catalog. As of this element set it had completed roughly 7,646 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.78 km/s, BEIDOU-3S M2S operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 21,501–21,569 km altitude, taking about 12.9 hours per revolution (1.86 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0012). Inclined 54.8° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 55° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 297.7°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | medium Earth orbit (MEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~21,501 km × 21,569 km |
| Inclination | 54.76° |
| Orbital period | 773.2 min (1.86 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00123 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-10-20 |
| COSPAR designation | 2015-037A |
| NORAD catalog number | 40748 |
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
BEIDOU-3S M2S is part of China's BeiDou 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 BEIDOU-3S M2S from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3S M2S 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 BEIDOU-3S M2S in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- BEIDOU-3S M1S (NORAD 40749)
- NAVSTAR 74 (USA 262) (NORAD 40730)
- GSAT0206 (GALILEO 10) (NORAD 40890)
- BEIDOU-3S IGSO-2S (NORAD 40938)
- BEIDOU-3S IGSO-1S (NORAD 40549)
- GSAT0204 (GALILEO 8) (NORAD 40545)
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