- Navigation satellite
- NORAD 67588
- 2026-017A
- Medium Earth orbit
Current orbit
View on live mapOrbit began over the Indian Ocean
Orbit ends over the Pacific Ocean
In view from you
Nobody watches NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581) 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 NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581), 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 far too high and too faint for the naked eye. What you notice of it is a position fix, and the card above says whether it is above your horizon to give you one.
Timeline
- Outage
It was out of service from Sep 29, 2025, 9:00 PM to Oct 8, 2025, 7:33 PM, which its operator had not forecast. Source
- Outage
It was out of service from Jan 8, 2026, 6:04 PM to Jan 8, 2026, 10:00 PM, which its operator had not forecast. Source
- Outage
It was out of service from Mar 6, 2026, 10:28 PM to Mar 6, 2026, 10:48 PM, which its operator had not forecast. Source
- Outage
It was out of service from Mar 6, 2026, 10:55 PM to Mar 9, 2026, 10:15 PM, which its operator had not forecast. Source
- Outage
Its operator took it out of service from Apr 17, 2026, 2:25 AM to Apr 17, 2026, 8:34 AM, as it had forecast. Source
Summary
Over the Indian Ocean LIVE
Where is NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581)?
At 8:57:15 PM UTC NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581) was over the Indian Ocean (31.2° S, 107.9° E), 20,162 km up, moving at 3.88 km/s and in sunlight.
What is NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581)?
A navigation satellite in medium Earth orbit, one of the 32 navigation satellites of the GPS constellation.
Can I see NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581)?
No, not with the naked eye: no brightness has been published for NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581), and nothing here estimates one; receivers on the ground use its signals instead, whenever it is above their horizon.
General
NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581) is one of the 32 navigation satellites of the GPS constellation. See every GPS satellite and how many are above you right now.
- Known to its operator as
- PRN 20
- Space vehicle number
- 82
- Clock in use
- Rubidium
- Generation
- GPS Block III
- Signals
- L1 C/A, P(Y) on L1 and L2, L2C, M-code, L5, and L1C
- Design life
- 15 years
- Built by
- Lockheed Martin
- Typical altitude
- 20,000 to 20,400 km
Latest orbital data
- Position received
- 8:57 PM UTC
- Station time (UTC)
- 8:57 PM UTC
- Latitude / longitude
- 31.2° S, 107.9° E
- Altitude
- 20,162 km
- Speed
- 3.88 km/s (13,961 km/h)
- Course
- north
- Light
- In sunlight
- Inclination
- 55.2°
- Orbital period
- 718 minutes
- Orbits per day
- 2.01
- This orbit
- 20,127 to 20,237 km
- In shadow
- None of this orbit
- In view from
- Within 7,370 km of the point below it
- Elements epoch
- Sep 17, 2026, 10:19 PM, 22 hours old
- Source
- Position from Space-Track orbital elements of Sep 17, 2026, 10:19 PM, 22 hours old.
No operator publishes an ephemeris for NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581), so every position here comes from its orbital elements.
In service
A receiver can count on it now.
- Usable now
- Yes: its operator has published no outage in force.
- Plane and slot
- Plane F, slot 5
- Last outage
- Apr 17, 2026, 2:25 AM to Apr 17, 2026, 8:34 AM, forecast Notice
From GPS’s own notices, as its operator published them on Sep 16, 2026, 1:55 AM.
In orbit
- Close approaches
- Close approaches to NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581) are not available right now. Try again in a few minutes.
Beside the others
| Constellation | Satellites | Typical altitude | Orbital period | Planes | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPS | 32 | 20,000 to 20,400 km | 718 minutes | 6 | The United States Space Force |
| Galileo | 27 | 23,100 to 23,300 km | 845 minutes | — | EUSPA, the European Union Agency for the Space Programme |
| BeiDou | 37 | 21,450 to 21,600 km | 773 minutes | — | The China Satellite Navigation Office |
| GLONASS | 22 | 19,050 to 19,200 km | 676 minutes | — | Roscosmos, the Russian State Space Corporation |
Data and API
The current elements from Space-Track as an OMM object, epoch Sep 17, 2026, 10:19 PM, 22 hours old.
{
"OBJECT_NAME": "NAVSTAR 85 (USA 581)",
"OBJECT_ID": "2026-017A",
"EPOCH": "2026-09-17T22:19:23.901600",
"MEAN_MOTION": 2.0056891,
"ECCENTRICITY": 0.0020767,
"INCLINATION": 55.1539,
"RA_OF_ASC_NODE": 85.0339,
"ARG_OF_PERICENTER": 263.3963,
"MEAN_ANOMALY": 96.4165,
"EPHEMERIS_TYPE": 0,
"CLASSIFICATION_TYPE": "U",
"NORAD_CAT_ID": 67588,
"ELEMENT_SET_NO": 999,
"REV_AT_EPOCH": 43347,
"BSTAR": 0,
"MEAN_MOTION_DOT": -4e-8,
"MEAN_MOTION_DDOT": 0
}