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BEIDOU-3 M17 — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 43706)
Track BEIDOU-3 M17 (NORAD catalog number 43706) 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 93rd orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2018-093A). 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 5,323 revolutions of Earth.
Moving at about 3.78 km/s, BEIDOU-3 M17 operates in medium Earth orbit at roughly 21,512–21,559 km altitude, taking about 12.9 hours per revolution (1.86 orbits a day). The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0008). Inclined 54.2° to the equator, it overflies every latitude up to about 54° north and south. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 179.2°.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | medium Earth orbit (MEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~21,512 km × 21,559 km |
| Inclination | 54.17° |
| Orbital period | 773.2 min (1.86 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00084 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-16 |
| COSPAR designation | 2018-093A |
| NORAD catalog number | 43706 |
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 M17 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 M17 from the ground?
Not with the naked eye. At its altitude BEIDOU-3 M17 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 M17 in the Navigation group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- BEIDOU-3 M18 (NORAD 43707)
- GSAT-29 (NORAD 43698)
- COSMOS 2529 [GLONASS-M] (NORAD 43687)
- BEIDOU-3 G1 (NORAD 43683)
- BEIDOU-3 M15 (NORAD 43648)
- BEIDOU-3 M16 (NORAD 43647)
Browse the Navigation directory or the full satellite directory.
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