Communications
TACSAT 4
US Military Communications Technology Demonstrator (Elliptical Orbit) · Naval Research Laboratory / US Navy
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
- Over
- —
- Altitude
- —
- Speed
- —
TacSat-4, a US Navy-led experimental communications satellite launched in 2011 into an unusual highly elliptical orbit specifically chosen to give ground troops in high-latitude and mountainous terrain — places geostationary satellites struggle to reach — reliable UHF radio contact without needing to physically point an antenna. It was tested with the US Coast Guard's only polar icebreaker in the Bering Sea as an early proof of Arctic satellite communications.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Highly Ellipticalswings far out, then dives back close to Earth
- Altitude
- 237–7,470 mi (382–12,021 km)
- Inclination
- 62.8°
- One orbit
- 3.9 hours6.2 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 37818
- Int’l designator
- 2011-052A
- Launched
- 2011
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.