The Fleet in Orbit: Setcoin's Satellite Catalogue Analysis
How many Earth observation satellites does each operator have in orbit in October 2026, and how fast are fleets growing?
Chapter summary
On Setcoin's analysis of the public satellite catalogue (CelesTrak SATCAT, 20 October 2026), China's government Yaogan series is the largest identifiable EO fleet with 167 satellites in orbit, followed by Planet's Dove family (115 in orbit, 660 launched since 2013), Spire's Lemur weather and maritime satellites (96), ICEYE's radar satellites (57, with 22 launched in 2025 and 18 so far in 2026) and China's Jilin-1 commercial fleet (at least 43 matched by name; the company reports a larger fleet).
Key takeaways
- 1
Italy's IRIDE programme put 31 satellites in orbit in 2025–2026.
- 2
Radar fleets are growing fastest.
- 3
Catalogue names undercount some fleets, so the counts are lower bounds.
Key figures in this chapter
- 22 + 18
- ICEYE satellites launched in 2025 and 2026
- 31
- IRIDE satellites in two years
- 660 → 115
- Doves launched vs still in orbit
- 9
- Vantor 30 cm satellites
Source: Setcoin space engine (CelesTrak SATCAT), 20 Oct 2026
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