Are there are any satellites that orbit in a purposeful triangle formation? I've done some google searching and came up with a few candidates, but nothing looks close to this. Or could this even be as simple as me being in the right place to make 3 unaffiliated satellites look to be in a formation? This video is sped up x4 otherwise it would have been like 3 minutes long, can post the full as well if I need to. One thing that is odd, other than the formation, is the speed. The other lights you see moving around are satellites, or at least what they normally look like, and the "normal" satellites are moving much faster than the 3 in the formation. (Edit) I regret to add that my camera "suddenly" died/malfunctioned as they were getting brighter lol I'm so sorry, I know how stereotypical this is lmao but it happened, all that was missed was they slowly dimmed and faded away about 5-10 more seconds after my camera shut off. (End Edit) Recorded this on a SiOnyx Aurora night vision camera a while back. I never posted this because I figured I'd get slammed for posting what's probably satellites but a friend of mine really thought I should post it anyway. Time: 03/23/2026 10:08 PM EST Location: Charleston, SC USA
by JaileyBoi
3 Comments
(Not sure if this is considered a link post, writing this here so my post doesn’t get removed.) Are there are any satellites that orbit in a purposeful triangle formation? I’ve done some google searching and came up with a few candidates, but nothing looks close to this. Or could this even be as simple as me being in the right place to make 3 unaffiliated satellites look to be in a formation? This video is sped up x4 otherwise it would have been like 3 minutes long, can post the full as well if I need to. One thing that is odd, other than the formation, is the speed. The other lights you see moving around are satellites, or at least what they normally look like, and the “normal” satellites are moving much faster than the 3 in the formation. Recorded this on a SiOnyx Aurora night vision camera a while back. I never posted this because I figured I’d get slammed for posting what’s probably satellites but a friend of mine really thought I should post it anyway.
It looks really impressive, but it COULD be NOSS (Naval Ocean Surveillance System). These are satellites that often move in such triangular formations.
>Are there are any satellites that orbit in a purposeful triangle formation?
If you write this into this website, maybe you know it. It’s google.com. It will say this:
>Yes, several satellite missions purposefully fly or are planned to fly in precise triangle formations. These geometric clusters are used for synchronized radar imaging, intercepting signals, or acting as massive space antennas. **HawkEye 360:** This commercial satellite constellation uses clusters of three small satellites to precisely pinpoint the geographic origins of radio-frequency signals (like marine radios or emergency beacons) using a technique called Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA). **Chinese Naval Surveillance (Yaogan series):** China operates military intelligence satellite triads—such as the Yaogan-31 and Yaogan-40 series—that fly in equilateral triangle formations for similar signal interception and geolocation. **NOSS (Naval Ocean Surveillance System):** Historically, the US Navy operated the “White Cloud” program, deploying trios of satellites in polar orbits that flew in a deliberate, loose triangular formation to locate ships at sea. If you see three bright “stars” moving across the sky in a steady, unblinking triangle formation, it is usually a military or commercial electronic-intelligence cluster like one of these.