The local space context of Los Angeles as this registry holds it — the catalogued
human footprint on the ground around it, the orbits that can pass overhead, and the geostationary belt
seen from here.
position
34.052° N, 118.244° W
GeoNames (geonames.org) — CC BY 4.0
population
3,820,914 inhabitants
GeoNames (geonames.org) — CC BY 4.0
On the ground within 1000 km
Launch sites — 38 within 1000 km
site
distance · bearing
position
source layer
Naval Missile and Astronautics Center, Point Mugu, California
81 km W (276°)
34.120° N, 119.120° W
gcat-sites
Edwards AFB, California
103 km NNE (23°)
34.900° N, 117.800° W
gcat-sites
Mojave Spaceport, California
111 km N (5°)
35.049° N, 118.136° W
gcat-sites
San Clemente Island, Pacific Missile Range, California
128 km S (191°)
32.920° N, 118.500° W
gcat-sites
SLBM and Air Launch Area, Western Test Range, Pacific Ocean
136 km SSW (211°)
33.000° N, 119.000° W
gcat-sites
San Nicolas Island, Pacific Missile Range, California
147 km SW (233°)
33.250° N, 119.500° W
gcat-sites
Friends of Amateur Rocketry, Randsburg, California
149 km NNE (15°)
35.348° N, 117.809° W
gcat-sites
Cuddeback Dry Lake drop zone, California
154 km NE (35°)
35.180° N, 117.270° W
gcat-sites
Naval Ordnance Test Station, China Lake, California
196 km NNE (30°)
35.580° N, 117.170° W
gcat-sites
Leach Spring, Camp Irwin, California
198 km NE (45°)
35.300° N, 116.700° W
gcat-sites
Naval Missile Facility, Point Arguello, California
225 km WNW (287°)
34.620° N, 120.600° W
gcat-sites
South Vandenberg AFB, California
227 km WNW (287°)
34.630° N, 120.610° W
gcat-sites
South Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
227 km WNW (287°)
34.630° N, 120.610° W
gcat-sites
Vandenberg AFB, California
231 km WNW (290°)
34.750° N, 120.620° W
gcat-sites
Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
231 km WNW (290°)
34.750° N, 120.620° W
gcat-sites
… and 23 more within 1000 km
Ground stations and transmitting sites — 2 within 1000 km
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer E
227 km WNW (287°)
34.632° N, 120.611° W
launchlibrary
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Rivada 1
227 km WNW (287°)
34.632° N, 120.611° W
launchlibrary
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Rivada 10
227 km WNW (287°)
34.632° N, 120.611° W
launchlibrary
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Rivada 11
227 km WNW (287°)
34.632° N, 120.611° W
launchlibrary
… and 10 more within 1000 km
Nuclear detonations — 941 within 1000 km
site
distance · bearing
position
source layer
AGOUTI
353 km NNE (33°)
36.700° N, 116.100° W
nuclear-tests
FAWN
359 km NNE (27°)
36.920° N, 116.420° W
nuclear-tests
BIT A-B
361 km NNE (29°)
36.870° N, 116.270° W
nuclear-tests
SARDINE/BARRACU
362 km NNE (29°)
36.900° N, 116.300° W
nuclear-tests
WISHBONE
363 km NE (34°)
36.720° N, 115.940° W
nuclear-tests
DILUTED WATERS
367 km NNE (32°)
36.830° N, 116.060° W
nuclear-tests
PAJARA
367 km NNE (24°)
37.060° N, 116.570° W
nuclear-tests
PURPLE
369 km NNE (30°)
36.900° N, 116.150° W
nuclear-tests
MALLET
370 km NNE (31°)
36.890° N, 116.120° W
nuclear-tests
SMALLBOY
371 km NE (34°)
36.800° N, 115.925° W
nuclear-tests
PINSTRIPE
371 km NNE (33°)
36.820° N, 115.960° W
nuclear-tests
NEWPOINT
371 km NNE (33°)
36.820° N, 115.960° W
nuclear-tests
AUGER
372 km NNE (28°)
37.000° N, 116.310° W
nuclear-tests
BUGGY A-E
372 km NNE (26°)
37.030° N, 116.380° W
nuclear-tests
SULKY
372 km NNE (28°)
37.000° N, 116.300° W
nuclear-tests
… and 926 more within 1000 km
Distances are great-circle on a sphere of mean radius 6,371 km; bearings are initial true
bearings from the city. Each position is the source catalogue's own, read back from the registry.
What can pass overhead
Of the 23,251 artificial objects the registry places in Earth orbit
on 2026-10-18, 20,202 fly orbits whose ground
track reaches 34.052° N, so they can pass directly overhead; the other
3,049 never reach this latitude.
Computed: an orbit's equatorial inclination bounds the latitudes its track reaches (inclination
i, or 180° − i when retrograde), from the orbital elements the registry holds. «Can pass overhead» is
geometry, not a schedule — when, and whether it is lit and visible, depends on the hour.
The geostationary belt from here
The geostationary belt arcs across the southern sky and stands
50.4° above the horizon due south — the
elevation to aim at for a satellite at this city's own longitude. Computed: spherical Earth
(equatorial radius 6,378.137 km), circular orbit of one sidereal day (42,164 km); good to a few tenths of a
degree.
What this page does not know
Tonight's sky and pass times. They depend on the hour, so a static page would print a
stale number. Open the live scene in a browser: /sim.html#sel=EARTH&tn=1,
then stand at Los Angeles in Stargazing — it computes which satellites are visible now, from this
registry, in your browser.
Anything not catalogued. A site absent from the source catalogues is absent here; an
empty list means «not in the registry», not «nothing there».
Precision beyond the sources. Positions carry the precision their catalogue published.