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PODSAT — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 43229)
Track PODSAT (NORAD catalog number 43229) 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 is object B of 2018's 23rd orbital launch (COSPAR designation 2018-023B). 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 19,986 revolutions of Earth.
Its speed swings from 4.42 km/s at apogee to 9.02 km/s at perigee. PODSAT follows a highly elliptical orbit, completing a revolution every 2.8 hours. The orbit is strongly elliptical (eccentricity 0.3426): each revolution swings from 204 km at perigee out to 7,058 km at apogee. Its 26.8° inclination keeps its ground track over the tropics and lower mid-latitudes. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 284.3°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 2.36° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | highly elliptical orbit (HEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~204 km × 7,058 km |
| Inclination | 26.82° |
| Orbital period | 165.9 min (8.68 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.34263 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2018-023B |
| NORAD catalog number | 43229 |
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
PODSAT 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 PODSAT from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude PODSAT 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 PODSAT in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- HISPASAT 30W-6 (NORAD 43228)
- O3B FM15 (NORAD 43231)
- GOES 17 (NORAD 43226)
- O3B FM16 (NORAD 43232)
- O3B FM14 (NORAD 43233)
- O3B FM13 (NORAD 43234)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe