Shi Jian 21

LIVE
See on the map

Link to this page

https://orbinauts.com/satellites/49330

  • Military
  • SJ-21
  • NORAD 49330
  • 2021-094A
  • Inclined geosynchronous

Current orbit

Where Shi Jian 21 is on the world map, with the orbit it is flying
View on live map

Orbit began over Indonesia

Orbit ends over Indonesia

Past trackNext orbits

In view from you

Nobody watches Shi Jian 21 go over, but a receiver still asks whether it is above the horizon. Say where you are and this card answers.

Your position is rounded to about a kilometre and sent only to the Orbinauts API, to find the pass.

No brightness has been published for Shi Jian 21, so it is not a naked-eye satellite and no city page carries pass times for it. Nothing here estimates one.

Seeing it

There is nothing to go outside for: it is too faint to see with the naked eye from anywhere on Earth.

Timeline

  1. Launch

    Launched, on the day GCAT records. Source

  2. Rendezvous

    Shi Jian 21 came up beside SJ-21 subsatellite, from Nov 15, 2021, as public sources state. Its sources

  3. Rendezvous

    Shi Jian 21 came up beside Beidou DW 2, Dec 25, 2021 to Jan 26, 2022, as public sources state. Its sources

  4. Rendezvous

    Shi Jian 21 came up beside Shi Jian 25, Jun 5, 2025 to Nov 25, 2025, as public sources state. Its sources

  5. Rendezvous

    USA 270 came up beside Shi Jian 21, from Jun 9, 2025, as public sources state. Its sources

  6. Rendezvous

    Shi Jian 25 came up beside Shi Jian 21, Dec 1, 2025 to Jan 16, 2026, as public sources state. Its sources

Summary

Over the Molucca Sea LIVE

Where is Shi Jian 21?

At 5:36:32 PM UTC Shi Jian 21 was over the Molucca Sea (1.8° N, 127.5° E), 35,989 km up, moving at 3.06 km/s and in sunlight.

What is Shi Jian 21?

A satellite in an inclined geosynchronous orbit, in space since Oct 24, 2021.

Can I see Shi Jian 21?

No, not with the naked eye: no brightness has been published for Shi Jian 21, and nothing here estimates one.

General

Operator
Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (CASC 8th Acad)
State
China, People's Republic of
Built by
Shanghai Academy of Space Technology (CASC 8th Acad)
Military
Yes: a defence organisation flies it
Launched
Mass
about 5 t
Operating
Yes
Orbit class
Inclined geosynchronous

From GCAT, Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue, licensed CC BY 4.0: the operator, the state, the manufacturer, that a defence organisation flies it, the launch day, the mass, and whether it is operating. The orbit class is read from its current elements.

Latest orbital data

Position received
5:36 PM UTC
Station time (UTC)
5:36 PM UTC
Latitude / longitude
1.8° N, 127.5° E
Altitude
35,989 km
Speed
3.06 km/s (11,016 km/h)
Course
north
Light
In sunlight
Inclination
5.5°
Orbital period
1,436 minutes
Orbits per day
1
This orbit
35,561 to 36,011 km
In shadow
None of this orbit
In view from
Within 7,950 km of the point below it
Elements epoch
Nov 8, 2026, 7:47 AM, 9 hours old
Source
Position from Space-Track orbital elements of Nov 8, 2026, 7:47 AM, 9 hours old.

No operator publishes an ephemeris for Shi Jian 21, so every position here comes from its orbital elements.

In orbit

Close approaches
No close approach to Shi Jian 21 has been reported publicly in the past thirty days.

From Space-Track’s public conjunction messages; the latest report was issued Nov 8, 2026, 1:11 PM, 3 hours old. Only approaches serious enough to be reported publicly are listed: within three days and, for two bodies near the Earth, closer than a kilometre with a chance of a collision above 1 in 10,000, the level at which NASA moves the ISS.

See every close approach reported in orbit.

Launched with

Shi Jian 21 shares its launch, 2021-094, with 2 other bodies the catalogue lists in orbit.

BodyWhat it is
CZ-3B R/BRocket body
SJ-21 AKMRocket body

Read from the international designators of the US catalogue: the year and the launch number every piece of one launch shares. A body that has come down is no longer listed.

Data and API

The current elements from Space-Track as an OMM object, epoch Nov 8, 2026, 7:47 AM, 9 hours old.

{
  "OBJECT_NAME": "SJ-21",
  "OBJECT_ID": "2021-094A",
  "EPOCH": "2026-11-08T07:47:48.412896",
  "MEAN_MOTION": 1.00277251,
  "ECCENTRICITY": 0.00533352,
  "INCLINATION": 5.4519,
  "RA_OF_ASC_NODE": 60.2117,
  "ARG_OF_PERICENTER": 174.554,
  "MEAN_ANOMALY": 57.6121,
  "EPHEMERIS_TYPE": 0,
  "CLASSIFICATION_TYPE": "U",
  "NORAD_CAT_ID": 49330,
  "ELEMENT_SET_NO": 999,
  "REV_AT_EPOCH": 680,
  "BSTAR": 0,
  "MEAN_MOTION_DOT": -0.0000034,
  "MEAN_MOTION_DDOT": 0
}