Geostationary
INMARSAT 3-F3
Mobile Satellite (Maritime Safety) · Inmarsat
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An aging Inmarsat-3 satellite still providing the L-band maritime safety services that the international community depends on for oceanic distress communication. Inmarsat has gradually shifted commercial services to its fourth and fifth generation satellites, but Inmarsat-3 assets remain operationally critical for GMDSS coverage continuity — the international treaty obligation ensuring every ocean vessel has access to emergency communication.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 22,275–22,307 mi (35,848–35,900 km)
- Inclination
- 10.5°
- One orbit
- 24.0 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 24674
- Int’l designator
- 1996-070A
- Launched
- 1996
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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