Science
AJISAI (EGS)
Geodetic Laser Ranging · NASDA / Japan
Right now
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Japan's geodetic satellite and the most reflective spacecraft in orbit — its 1,436 retroreflectors and 318 mirror panels make it a glittering sphere visible to the naked eye as a flashing point of light. Ajisai ('Hydrangea') precisely connected the islands of Japan into a unified coordinate system for the first time, providing the calibration measurements for Japan's tsunami-warning tidal gauge network.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 924–935 mi (1,486–1,504 km)
- Inclination
- 50.0°
- One orbit
- 115.7 minutes12.4 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 16908
- Int’l designator
- 1986-061A
- Launched
- 1986
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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