Geostationary
INMARSAT 3-F1
Mobile Satellite (Maritime/Aviation) · Inmarsat
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One of Inmarsat's third-generation L-band satellites still providing mobile satellite communications across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions. Inmarsat-3 satellites provide the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) — the international maritime emergency communication service that every ocean-going vessel must carry. When a ship's crew sends a distress signal anywhere on Earth's oceans, it reaches the Inmarsat-3 network first. This satellite has facilitated rescues across three decades of maritime operations.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 22,270–22,307 mi (35,840–35,900 km)
- Inclination
- 10.8°
- One orbit
- 24.0 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 23839
- Int’l designator
- 1996-020A
- Launched
- 1996
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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