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JASON-3 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 41240)
Track JASON-3 (NORAD catalog number 41240) 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 2016, launched on the 2nd orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2016-002A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 49,781 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 7.21 km/s, JASON-3 flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 1,312 × 1,325 km, completing one revolution every 111.8 minutes — about 12.9 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0009). Inclined 66.0° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 66° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 313.3°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 2.10° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~1,312 km × 1,325 km |
| Inclination | 66.04° |
| Orbital period | 111.8 min (12.88 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00085 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2016-002A |
| NORAD catalog number | 41240 |
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 Other Active Satellites group
JASON-3 is one of 4,471 active satellites in WatchSat's general catalog — the broad population of Earth-observation, communications, science, amateur-radio and technology spacecraft outside the giant broadband constellations. Browse all other active satellites live in 3D.
Can you see JASON-3 from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, JASON-3 is visible only around dawn and dusk, when your sky is dark but the satellite is still sunlit — and whether you can spot it depends on its size and reflectivity. See pass predictions for your location for when it is above your horizon and sunlit.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of JASON-3 in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- IRNSS-1E (NORAD 41241)
- BELINTERSAT-1 (NORAD 41238)
- GAOFEN-4 (NORAD 41194)
- EXPRESS-AMU1 (NORAD 41191)
- ORBCOMM FM116 (NORAD 41189)
- ORBCOMM FM117 (NORAD 41188)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe