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BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 37948)
Track BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 (NORAD catalog number 37948) 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 2011, launched on the 73rd orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2011-073A). As of this element set it had completed roughly 5,399 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.11 km/s, BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 flies a geosynchronous orbit roughly 35,786 km up: its 23.9-hour period matches Earth's rotation, but at 47.5° inclination it is not geostationary — seen from the ground it traces a daily figure-eight around a fixed longitude, swinging about 48° north and south of the equator. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0117). Inclined 47.5° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 48° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 270.5°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~35,300 km × 36,283 km |
| Inclination | 47.53° |
| Orbital period | 1436.0 min (1.00 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.01167 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-10 |
| COSPAR designation | 2011-073A |
| NORAD catalog number | 37948 |
This page's orbital elements come from the CelesTrak catalog of 2026-09-17. 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-2 IGSO-5 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-2 IGSO-5 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 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 are available on this page once you select the satellite and share your position.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of BEIDOU-2 IGSO-5 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- COSMOS 2475 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37869)
- COSMOS 2477 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37868)
- COSMOS 2476 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 37867)
- GSAT0102 (GALILEO-FM2) (NORAD 37847)
- GSAT0101 (GALILEO-PFM) (NORAD 37846)
- BEIDOU-2 G5 (NORAD 38091)
Browse the Navigation directory or the full satellite directory.
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