CLASSIFIED
CHECKMATE 3
US Military Mesh Communications (SDA Tranche 0 Transport Layer) · York Space Systems / US Space Development Agency
Right now
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Checkmate 3, one of ten satellites launched together April 2, 2023 as the US Space Development Agency's first real test of a genuinely new idea for military space: instead of a handful of billion-dollar satellites, build dozens of cheap, disposable, mesh-networked ones that talk directly to each other via laser. This satellite is one of the satellites that proved a small startup — York Space Systems, not a traditional defense giant — could build and deliver military-grade satellites fast enough to matter for modern warfighting timelines.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 587–594 mi (944–956 km)
- Inclination
- 81.0°
- One orbit
- 103.9 minutes13.9 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 56169
- Int’l designator
- 2023-050H
- Launched
- 2023
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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