X Report 26 Mar 2025
SpaceX's Starlink dish offers gigabit speeds, boosting competitiveness; NRO taps SpaceX for satellite launches, expanding spy satellite network.
Launch Date
November 8, 1969
Launch Site
AFWTR
Launch Pad
SLC5
Launch Vehicle
Scout B
NORAD ID
04221
International Designator
1969-097A
Epoch
Sat, 04 Jul 2026 01:27:40 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
102.66°
Right Ascension
340.35°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
142.15°
Period
93.68 min
Mean Motion
15.37 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
AZUR (GRS A)
Alternative Name
Azur
Type
Status
Owner
DFVLR
Country
Germany
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 04221U 69097A 26185.06088382 .00083377 00000-0 10790-2 0 9994
2 04221 102.6633 340.3465 0207612 142.1505 219.4526 15.37169021728015
Source: Celestrak
Apologies, there is no summary for this satellite yet. I am working to generate these for every object in the catalog, but it is going to take time.
Length
1.1
Diameter
0.8
Span
2
Dry Mass
78
Launch Mass
78
Shape
Cyl + Ant
Radar Cross Section
0.3281
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
GRS-A
Purpose
Research, ionosphere
Mission
Research, ionosphere
Manufacturer
GFW
Life Expectancy
1 years (design); 7 months (achieved)
Bus
GRS
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
Unknown
Equipment
see above
Power System
Solar cells, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
SpaceX's Starlink dish offers gigabit speeds, boosting competitiveness; NRO taps SpaceX for satellite launches, expanding spy satellite network.
Artemis 2 astronauts completed first crewed lunar flyby since Apollo 17, traveling 690,000 miles aboard Orion. Four crew validated deep-space systems.
The FAA grounds SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket after a launch mishap, potentially impacting NASA's crewed missions and disrupting SpaceX's ambitious launch schedule.
Katalyst's Link spacecraft passes key testing milestone ahead of June 2026 launch to rescue NASA's $500M SPARCS telescope. In-space servicing mission will create trackable conjunction risk during approach and docking phase.
How many Starlink satellites are in orbit in 2026? 10,087 working of 10,097 on orbit, 11,612 launched to date, per KeepTrack data.
Space Force projects 25 additional high-energy missions in 2027–2029 window, straining capacity at Vulcan and Falcon Heavy. Capacity constraints will drive military-NASA prioritization debates.
The satellite industry's biggest operators are betting on multi-orbit architectures that combine LEO, MEO, and GEO into unified networks. A San Francisco startup called Contrivian thinks they've overcomplicated the problem, and the physics might be on its side.
SpaceX achieves a new milestone with the Falcon 9 and Starlink reshapes satellite connectivity landscape.