Geostationary
USA 169 (MILSTAR-2 4)
Military EHF Communications · US Space Force
Right now
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The fourth MILSTAR Block II satellite, positioned to provide overlap coverage with its constellation partners. By the time MILSTAR-2 4 launched, the architecture had proven itself supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq — military commanders discovered that the anti-jam, low-probability-of-intercept MILSTAR links were more valuable in asymmetric conflict than their designers anticipated. Nuclear deterrence hardware that found its true calling in counterterrorism.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 21,990–22,494 mi (35,389–36,201 km)
- Inclination
- 12.5°
- One orbit
- 23.9 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 27711
- Int’l designator
- 2003-012A
- Launched
- 2003
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.