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BEIDOU-3S IGSO-2S — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 40938)
Track BEIDOU-3S IGSO-2S (NORAD catalog number 40938) 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 53rd orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2015-053A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 4,017 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.10 km/s, BEIDOU-3S IGSO-2S flies a geosynchronous orbit roughly 35,786 km up: its 23.9-hour period matches Earth's rotation, but at 49.1° inclination it is not geostationary — seen from the ground it traces a daily figure-eight around a fixed longitude, swinging about 49° north and south of the equator. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0066). Inclined 49.1° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 49° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 257.8°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~35,512 km × 36,068 km |
| Inclination | 49.10° |
| Orbital period | 1435.9 min (1.00 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00659 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-06 |
| COSPAR designation | 2015-053A |
| NORAD catalog number | 40938 |
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-3S IGSO-2S 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-3S IGSO-2S from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3S IGSO-2S 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-3S IGSO-2S in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- GSAT0206 (GALILEO 10) (NORAD 40890)
- GSAT-6 (NORAD 40880)
- NAVSTAR 75 (USA 265) (NORAD 41019)
- GSAT-15 (NORAD 41028)
- BEIDOU-3S M1S (NORAD 40749)
- BEIDOU-3S M2S (NORAD 40748)
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