CLASSIFIED
MANDRAKE 2 ABLE
US Military Optical Communications Technology Demonstrator · US Space Force / DARPA
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Mandrake 2 Able, part of a US Space Force/DARPA experimental satellite pair testing optical inter-satellite laser communication links — a rehearsal for the kind of space-based data relay mesh the Pentagon now considers essential to modern military satellite architecture.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 244–247 mi (392–398 km)
- Inclination
- 97.7°
- One orbit
- 92.3 minutes15.6 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 48907
- Int’l designator
- 2021-059AE
- Launched
- 2021
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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