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BEIDOU-3 M1 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 43001)
Track BEIDOU-3 M1 (NORAD catalog number 43001) 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 2017, launched on the 69th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2017-069A). 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 6,030 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.78 km/s, BEIDOU-3 M1 operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 21,515–21,555 km altitude, taking about 12.9 hours per revolution (1.86 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0007). Inclined 56.8° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 57° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 60.1°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | medium Earth orbit (MEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~21,515 km × 21,555 km |
| Inclination | 56.78° |
| Orbital period | 773.2 min (1.86 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00072 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-16 |
| COSPAR designation | 2017-069A |
| NORAD catalog number | 43001 |
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-3 M1 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 M1 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3 M1 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-3 M1 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- BEIDOU-3 M2 (NORAD 43002)
- GSAT0215 (GALILEO 19) (NORAD 43055)
- GSAT0216 (GALILEO 20) (NORAD 43056)
- GSAT0217 (GALILEO 21) (NORAD 43057)
- GSAT0218 (GALILEO 22) (NORAD 43058)
- COSMOS 2522 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 42939)
Browse the Navigation directory or the full satellite directory.
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