OperationalPayloadHEO
TESS is a payload in HEO orbit, operated by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, launched 2018.
Orbital data last updated 45 days ago. This may not reflect the current orbital state, not for operational use or collision avoidance. That number is the age of the measurement itself, not of our last check. We look for newer orbital data every six hours and publish whatever the tracking catalogue has released; when nothing newer has been released, the measurement below stays where it is. This is unusual even for this orbit: only 3 of the 43 tracked objects in HEO are this far behind. We do not know the reason. The tracking catalogue simply has not released a newer measurement for this object. This record was last refreshed on 2026-11-05.Why?
| Source | What it says | Date |
|---|---|---|
| CelesTrak SATCAT | Operational | since at least 2026-11-05 |
| GCAT (J. McDowell) | Believed still transmitting | |
| GCAT (J. McDowell) | Believed still operating | |
| GCAT (J. McDowell) | Last known active | 2023-02 |
Each line is one source and what it says. Where they disagree, both are shown; OrbitalWiki does not pick a winner.
From GCAT by Jonathan McDowell (CC BY 4.0), record S43435, checked 2026-11-05. About this source
From the GCAT launch log, launch 2018-038, checked 2026-11-05. About this source
It went up on launch 2018-038, alongside everything else on that flight
See it moving on the 3D globe alongside every other active object, propagated in your browser.
How many satellites are in orbit right now?
//Orbital data is approximate and not for operational use. Last ingested from CelesTrak on Nov 5, 2026.