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IXPE — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 49954)
Track IXPE (NORAD catalog number 49954) 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 121st orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2021-121A).
Moving at about 7.60 km/s, IXPE flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 536 × 545 km, completing one revolution every 95.3 minutes — about 15.1 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0007). Its near-equatorial 0.2° inclination keeps it above the tropics at all times. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 55.9°. Earth's equatorial bulge drifts that plane westward about 7.52° per day.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~536 km × 545 km |
| Inclination | 0.23° |
| Orbital period | 95.3 min (15.11 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00071 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2021-121A |
| NORAD catalog number | 49954 |
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
IXPE 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 IXPE from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, IXPE 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 IXPE in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- GLOBAL-16 (NORAD 49950)
- GLOBAL-17 (NORAD 49949)
- SHIJIAN-6 05A (SJ-6 05A) (NORAD 49961)
- SHIJIAN-6 05B (SJ-6 05B) (NORAD 49962)
- EXPRESS AMU-7 (NORAD 50001)
- EXPRESS AMU-3 (NORAD 50002)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe