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BEIDOU-3 G1 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 43683)
Track BEIDOU-3 G1 (NORAD catalog number 43683) 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 85th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2018-085A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 2,888 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.08 km/s, BEIDOU-3 G1 sits in the geostationary belt roughly 35,786 km above the equator, where its 23.9-hour orbit matches Earth's rotation — seen from the ground it stays parked over the same longitude around the clock. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0006). Its near-equatorial 2.6° inclination keeps it above the tropics at all times. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 95.0°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | geostationary/geosynchronous orbit (GEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~35,768 km × 35,819 km |
| Inclination | 2.60° |
| Orbital period | 1436.1 min (1.00 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00060 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2018-085A |
| NORAD catalog number | 43683 |
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 G1 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 G1 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3 G1 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 G1 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- COSMOS 2529 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 43687)
- GSAT-29 (NORAD 43698)
- BEIDOU-3 M17 (NORAD 43706)
- BEIDOU-3 M18 (NORAD 43707)
- BEIDOU-3 M15 (NORAD 43648)
- BEIDOU-3 M16 (NORAD 43647)
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