ENVISAT
Envisat was the European Space Agency's large environmental satellite, launched in 2002. Carrying a broad suite of instruments, it observed oceans, land, atmosphere and ice until contact was lost in 2012. Its long record remains important to Earth-science research and its large inactive spacecraft also illustrates the modern challenge of orbital debris and end-of-life planning.
Object identity
- NORAD ID
- 27386
- COSPAR ID
- 2002-009A
- Operator
- Not listed
- Country
- Not listed
- Launch date
- Not listed
Immediate discovery
Why this satellite matters
Envisat is a useful bridge between remote sensing and space sustainability: the same orbital predictability that enables repeated Earth measurements also allows long-lived inactive objects to be tracked for collision risk.
Understanding the mission
Science and engineering ideas
Envisat is a useful bridge between remote sensing and space sustainability: the same orbital predictability that enables repeated Earth measurements also allows long-lived inactive objects to be tracked for collision risk.
Mission
Mission and purpose
The current public orbital catalog identifies this object, but verified mission-specific information may be limited. TransitSatellite will expand this page when authoritative information is available.
- Envisat is a useful bridge between remote sensing and space sustainability: the same orbital predictability that enables repeated Earth measurements also allows long-lived inactive objects to be tracked for collision risk.
Design
Engineering
Envisat is a useful bridge between remote sensing and space sustainability: the same orbital predictability that enables repeated Earth measurements also allows long-lived inactive objects to be tracked for collision risk.
Real orbital values
The mathematics
The current two-line element set reports approximately 14.3908 revolutions per day. Dividing 1,440 minutes by that value gives an estimated orbital period of 100.1 minutes.
Period
100.1 min
Representative speed
26,899 km/h
Representative altitude
769 km
Inclination
98.39°
Launch record
Launch and deployment
Envisat launched on 1 March 2002 aboard an Ariane 5 from Kourou, French Guiana.
Orbit
LEO orbit explained
Low Earth orbit is the region closest to Earth used by most crewed spacecraft, many science missions, Earth-observation satellites, and large constellations. Objects move quickly and commonly complete an orbit in roughly 90 to 130 minutes.
LEO can provide detailed Earth views, lower communications delay, and easier access than higher orbits, but it covers less area per spacecraft and is more affected by atmospheric drag.
Live TransitSatellite experience
See ENVISAT moving now
Open the live tracker to view its current calculated position, trajectory, orbital information, visibility tools, and Save and Share controls.
Learning
Questions to explore
- What can an orbit tell us before the mission is fully identified?
- Why are stable catalog identifiers important?
Evidence
Sources and data notes
Current identity and orbital elements come from CelesTrak’s public GP data. Calculated orbit values are derived from the current TLE and may change after catalog updates. Mission-history claims are added separately and require authoritative sources.
Catalog updated
Sep 17, 2026, 7:50 AM UTC
Story review
1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z