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BEIDOU-3 M9 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 43245)

Track BEIDOU-3 M9 (NORAD catalog number 43245) 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 2018, launched on the 29th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2018-029A). 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 5,740 revolutions of Earth.

Moving at about 3.78 km/s, BEIDOU-3 M9 operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 21,531–21,540 km altitude, taking about 12.9 hours per revolution (1.86 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0002). Inclined 54.1° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 54° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 297.1°.

Orbital elements

Orbit regimemedium Earth orbit (MEO)
Perigee × apogee altitude~21,531 km × 21,540 km
Inclination54.12°
Orbital period773.2 min (1.86 rev/day)
Eccentricity0.00017
Element set epoch2026-09-06
COSPAR designation2018-029A
NORAD catalog number43245

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-3 M9 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-3 M9 from the ground?

Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3 M9 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-3 M9 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:

Browse the Navigation directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe