Science
TIANHUI 5A
Chinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite · CAST / PLA Navigation and Survey Bureau
Right now
LiveIt moves every second. See exactly where it is — worked out from its orbit, on your own device — on the live 3D globe.
- Over
- —
- Altitude
- —
- Speed
- —
Lead satellite of a fifth-generation Tianhui pair, launched in 2023 to continue the PLA's evolving stereo mapping and terrain intelligence program. Each successive Tianhui generation has incorporated design lessons from its predecessors — the program's decade-plus continuous development reflects sustained PLA investment in maintaining an independent, sovereign topographic mapping capability that doesn't rely on any foreign or commercial elevation data source for strategically sensitive terrain.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 378–380 mi (609–611 km)
- Inclination
- 97.8°
- One orbit
- 96.7 minutes14.9 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 58199
- Int’l designator
- 2023-168A
- Launched
- 2023
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
More science
- TIANHUI 5BChinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite
- TIANHUI 5CChinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite
- TIANHUI 5DChinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite
- TIANHUI 6AChinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite
- TIANHUI 6BChinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite
- TIANHUI 7Chinese Military Stereo Mapping Satellite