Orbital Traffic All objects

Geostationary

ECHOSTAR 17

North American Ka-band Residential Broadband · Hughes / EchoStar

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A Hughes/EchoStar high-throughput Ka-band satellite delivering HughesNet Gen4 broadband across North America. EchoStar-17 pioneered the consumer Ka-band spot beam broadband architecture in the US market — delivering up to 50 Mbps residential internet to rural households that cable and DSL will never economically reach. Its 140 Gbps total throughput represented a tenfold increase over previous-generation satellites, proving that satellite broadband could be a genuine alternative to terrestrial services for rural Americans.

Its orbit

Orbit
Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
Altitude
22,236–22,247 mi (35,785–35,804 km)
Inclination
0.0°
One orbit
23.9 hoursabout one orbit a day
NORAD ID
38551
Int’l designator
2012-035A
Launched
2012

Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.

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