Science
WILDFIRE 4
Military Missile Tracking (SDA Tranche 0 Tracking Layer) · US Space Development Agency (SDA)
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One of the September 2023 batch of SDA Tranche 0 Tracking Layer satellites, contributing to a demonstration constellation that would go on to prove laser intersatellite communication, ground data relay, and — significantly — direct connection between a commercial partner satellite and an SDA ground terminal aboard an aircraft in flight. WILDFIRE 4's operational data helped validate the architecture before the much larger Tranche 1 (154 satellites) began deployment in 2025.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 583–593 mi (938–954 km)
- Inclination
- 81.0°
- One orbit
- 103.8 minutes13.9 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 57756
- Int’l designator
- 2023-133A
- Launched
- 2023
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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