Showing default

LKW-3, 43146

Orbit data source: Space-Track

LKW-3, 43146 is a Chinese payload satellite in SSO that was launched on Sat, 13 Jan 2018 UTC via a CHANG ZHENG 2D launch vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China (JSC). Payload-class satellites include a variety of spacecraft equipped with specific instruments for various scientific and technological missions. These include communications satellites like Starlink; space stations such as the ISS; scientific satellites like the Hubble; Earth observation satellites from companies like Planet Labs, Umbra, and HawkEye 360; GPS; miniature CubeSats for education and research; and military/defense satellites.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/43146?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" title="Kayhan Space Satcat Satellite Viewer"></iframe>

Iframe URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/43146?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

Optional secondary NORAD IDs

Max 10 NORAD IDs; Separated by commas

Initial load time (optional)

ISO8601 Format

TLE date request (optional)

ISO8601 Format

Identifier

43146, 2018-006A

Orbit

SSO

Country

CN / PRC

Related business

Strategic Support Troops (CN)

Manufacturer

CAST?

Mission

Operational Defense Imaging

Bus & Motor

LKW, Unknown motor

Mass

~2,000 kg wet, ~2,000 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

2018-01-13 (9 years ago)

Launch vehicle

CHANG ZHENG 2D

Launch site

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China (JSC)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Hex Cyl + 3 Pan, 5.0 m

Radar Cross Section

8.135 m², Large (>1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

0 LKW-3
1 43146U 18006A   26257.88837286  .00009673  00000-0  27146-3 0  9993
2 43146  97.6708  62.1324 0003061  12.7013 347.4307 15.36782223482482

Epoch: 2026-09-14T21:19Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-14T21:19:15.415Z)

Latitude

-0°

Longitude

108.45596°

Altitude

456.695 km

Speed

7.64 km/s

True Right ascension

04h 08m 31s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

Unknown

Longitude

Unknown

Altitude

Unknown

Speed

Unknown

Apparent Right ascension

Unknown

Apparent Declination

Unknown

Sunlit

N/A

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

20:45:56

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

454.678 km

Perigee altitude

450.496 km

Semi-major axis

6,830.724 km

Eccentricity

0.00031

Inclination

97.6708°

RAAN

62.1324°

Arg. of periapsis

12.7013°

True anomaly

347.42306°

Mean anomaly

347.4307°

Eccentric anomaly

347.42688°

Mean motion

3.84453 °/min

Orbital period

93.64 mins

BSTAR

0.00027146

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

Other satellites on launch #6 in the year 2018 (2018-01-13 UTC)

CZ-2D DEB, 43148 (Decayed)

CZ-2D DEB, 43149 (Decayed)

CZ-2D DEB, 43150 (Decayed)

CZ-2D DEB, 43147 (Decayed)

Did you know?

You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.

Click here to try in Sandbox

LKW-3 Visibility forecast

Loading observer location...
Set Observer location

Span	Click to sort rows by Start time (UTC) header in descending order	Start Az.	Max El. time (UTC)	Max El. Az.	Max El.	End time (UTC)	End Az.
4 mins	2026-09-15 11:31:50.028Z	210.754° SW	2026-09-15 11:32:50.028Z	239.566° WSW	34.864°	2026-09-15 11:35:50.028Z	325.381° NNW
4 mins	2026-09-16 00:27:50.028Z	330.692° NNW	2026-09-16 00:28:50.028Z	301.036° NW	32.197°	2026-09-16 00:31:50.028Z	225.946° WSW

Items per page:

1–2 of 2 items

of 1 page

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

Please sign in to view Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs.

Click to sort rows by RSO header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Type header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Inclination Δ header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by RAAN Δ header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Coplanar Angle header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by SMA Δ header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Orbital period header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by <5km Md TCA header in descending order

CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings

Authenticating...

Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by TCA header in descending order

Check out LKW-3, 43146 on other resources

View LKW-3, 43146 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View LKW-3, 43146 on Heavens-Above

View LKW-3, 43146 on Keep Track

View LKW-3, 43146 on Celestrak

View LKW-3, 43146 on Gunter's Space Page

Satcat and Kayhan Space are not affiliated with NASA, Celestrak, Heavens-Above, Keep Track, or Gunter's Space Page.

LKW-3, 43146

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-14T21:19:15.415Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #6 in the year 2018 (2018-01-13 UTC)

LKW-3 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out LKW-3, 43146 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 7 hours ago