Science
WILDFIRE 3
Military Missile Tracking (SDA Tranche 0 Tracking Layer) · US Space Development Agency (SDA)
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Part of the SDA's Tranche 0 Tracking Layer constellation, WILDFIRE 3 carries the wide-field-of-view infrared sensor that scans large swaths of Earth for the characteristic heat signature of a missile launch. The Tranche 0 tracking satellites work alongside the parallel Transport Layer — the SDA's low-latency laser-linked communications mesh — to demonstrate an integrated system where missile detection data can be relayed to combatant commanders and interceptor systems within seconds rather than minutes.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 583–592 mi (939–953 km)
- Inclination
- 81.0°
- One orbit
- 103.8 minutes13.9 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 57758
- Int’l designator
- 2023-133C
- Launched
- 2023
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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