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JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 49338)
Track JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F (NORAD catalog number 49338) 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 2021, launched on the 97th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2021-097A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 26,869 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 7.60 km/s, JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 537 × 561 km, completing one revolution every 95.5 minutes — about 15.1 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0017). Its 97.7° retrograde, near-polar inclination is characteristic of a Sun-synchronous orbit — the type Earth-imaging and weather satellites use to revisit each spot at the same local solar time. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 16.4°. Earth's equatorial bulge precesses that plane eastward about 1.00° per day, matching the Sun's apparent motion — which is what holds its lighting constant.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~537 km × 561 km |
| Inclination | 97.68° |
| Orbital period | 95.5 min (15.08 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00173 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2021-097A |
| NORAD catalog number | 49338 |
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
JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F 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 JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F 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 JILIN-1 GAOFEN 2F in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- QZS-1R (MICHIBIKI-1R) (NORAD 49336)
- SYRACUSE 4A (NORAD 49333)
- SES-17 (NORAD 49332)
- SHIJIAN-21 (SJ-21) (NORAD 49330)
- 2021-091D (NORAD 49318)
- 2021-091B (NORAD 49316)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe