CLASSIFIED
USA 286
Military Technology Demonstrator · AFRL / US Space Test Program
Right now
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USA 286, the companion experimental satellite to USA 285, also built by the Air Force Research Laboratory and launched on the same June 2018 STP-2 Falcon Heavy mission — one of the most crowded single-rocket deployments in US military space history, carrying 24 separate spacecraft. USA 286's specific mission remains undisclosed, part of the broader Space Test Program's role as the US military's rapid, low-profile proving ground for emerging space technologies.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Geostationaryappears to hang motionless over one spot on the equator
- Altitude
- 21,896–21,953 mi (35,238–35,330 km)
- Inclination
- 7.3°
- One orbit
- 23.5 hoursabout one orbit a day
- NORAD ID
- 43446
- Int’l designator
- 2018-036F
- Launched
- 2018
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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