CLASSIFIED
USA 285
Military Technology Demonstrator · AFRL / US Space Test Program
Right now
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USA 285, an experimental satellite built by the Air Force Research Laboratory and flown under the Space Test Program, launched in June 2018 aboard SpaceX's second Falcon Heavy mission — the historic STP-2 flight that also carried the Air Force's Green Propellant Infusion Mission and the Planetary Society's LightSail 2 solar sail demonstrator. AFRL has not publicly detailed USA 285's specific experiment, consistent with the Space Test Program's practice of flying sensitive military technology demonstrations under minimal public disclosure.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 21,897–21,955 mi (35,240–35,333 km)
- Inclination
- 7.3°
- One orbit
- 23.5 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 43445
- Int’l designator
- 2018-036E
- Launched
- 2018
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 11 Sep 2026.
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