Earth-watching satellites
1,647 satellites in orbit, 1,223 operating.
The count is the catalogue’s as of Nov 10, 2026, 8:17 AM; whether a satellite is operating is as Orbinauts writes it where it has written when the satellite’s mission ended, and otherwise as Jonathan McDowell’s general catalogue believes it, licensed CC BY 4.0: GCAT
An Earth-watching satellite looks down: the weather satellites GOES-19 and Meteosat-12, the Earth science missions Terra and Landsat 9. Otherwise the kind is the one GCAT gives a payload whose purpose is imaging, radar imaging, weather, Earth science or geodesy.
A satellite’s kind is the one Orbinauts writes for it, else its constellation’s, else the one its purpose in GCAT gives.
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| Satellite | Kind | Orbit class | Launched | Operating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAOFEN 9 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| YAOGAN 27 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CARBONITE 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| DMC 3-FM3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| DMC 3-FM2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| DMC 3-FM1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GAOFEN 8 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| COSMOS 2506 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KOMPSAT 3A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| COSMOS 2503 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2G | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 26 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CBERS-4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 24 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ASNARO | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 22 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 8 | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 21 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GAOFEN 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SKYSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| METEOR M2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OCO 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SPOT 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| QB50P2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| QB50P1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TABLETSAT AURORA | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HODOYOSHI 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BUGSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DEIMOS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HODOYOSHI 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KAZEOSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| UNIFORM 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KAZEOSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| EGYPTSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-3 F19 (USA 249) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GPM | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HINCUBE | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DOVE 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| WNISAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DUBAISAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SKYSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 19 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| FENGYUN 3C | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| KOMPSAT 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| INSAT 3D | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Yes | |
| COSMOS 2486 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| VNREDSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GAOFEN 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SARAL | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GOKTURK 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| PLEIADES 1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| VRSS-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| METEOSAT 10 (MSG 3) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 15 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KOMPSAT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GCOM W1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 14 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| RISAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2F | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| ZY 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| PLEIADES 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SSOT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SHIYAN 4 (SY-4) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 12 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SICH 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RASAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIGERIASAT X | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| NIGERIASAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HAIYANG 2A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SAC-D (AQUARIUS) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| XSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| RESOURCESAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ELEKTRO-L | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| SKYMED 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| FENGYUN 3B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| YAOGAN 11 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| YAOGAN 10 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ALSAT 2A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CARTOSAT 2B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| TANDEM X | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CRYOSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| EWS-G2 (GOES 15) | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 8 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| YAOGAN 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SMOS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| DMSP 5D-3 F18 (USA 210) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| WORLDVIEW 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ITUPSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SWISSCUBE | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| OCEANSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BLITS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| UGATUSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR-M | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMC 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DUBAISAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DEIMOS 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| RAZAKSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EWS-G3 (GOES 14) | Earth-watching satellite | Geostationary | Yes | |
| NOAA 19 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| GOSAT (IBUKI) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| FENGYUN 2E | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| YAOGAN 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SHIYAN 3 (SY-3) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SKYMED 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| THEOS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| GEOEYE 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| HJ-1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HJ-1A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RAPIDEYE 4 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RAPIDEYE 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RAPIDEYE 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RAPIDEYE 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| RAPIDEYE 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2441 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| JASON 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 3A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IMS-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CARTOSAT 2A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| RADARSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SKYMED 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CBERS 2B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| WORLDVIEW 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SAR LUPE 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TERRA SAR X | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| SKYMED 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SAUDISAT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EGYPTSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HAIYANG 1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LAPAN-TUBSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2D | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-3 F17 (USA 191) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| METOP-A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KOMPSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| RESURS DK-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EWS-G1 (GOES 13) | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CALIPSO | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CLOUDSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| YAOGAN 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 7 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| ALOS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 9 (MSG 2) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Yes | |
| SINAH 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TOPSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BEIJING 1 (TSINGHUA) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 18 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CARTOSAT-1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HIMAWARI 6 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| PARASOL | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HELIOS 2A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SHIYAN 2 (SY-2) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| JB-3 C | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2C | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| AURA | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| ROCSAT 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TANSUO 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CBERS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS P6 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BILSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| UK-DMC | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NIGERIASAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SCISAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| CORIOLIS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| WEOS | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ADEOS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| ALSAT 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KALPANA 1 (METSAT 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| METEOSAT 8 (MSG 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| COSMOS 2392 | Earth-watching satellite | Medium Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 17 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 1D | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HAIYANG 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SPOT 5 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| MAROC TUBSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| BADR B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| METEOR 3M | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TIMED | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Yes | |
| JASON | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| LRE | Earth-watching satellite | Highly elliptical orbit | Ended | |
| GOES 12 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| SAC C | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| EO 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| SAUDISAT 1A | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| NOAA 16 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TZINGHUA 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| FENGYUN 2B | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| GOES 11 | Earth-watching satellite | Inclined geosynchronous | Ended | |
| KOMPSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| DMSP 5D-2 F15 (USA 147) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| HELIOS 1B | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| CBERS 1 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IKONOS 2 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| OKEAN O | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| QUIKSCAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| IRS P4 (OCEANSAT 1) | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| TUBSAT | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended | |
| KITSAT 3 | Earth-watching satellite | Low Earth orbit | Ended |