VANGUARD R/B, 12

Orbit data source: Space-Track

VANGUARD R/B, 12 is space debris in LEO originally from a launch on Tue, 17 Feb 1959 UTC launched from the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR). Debris objects in space refer to the collection of defunct objects orbiting the Earth. Examples of debris include non-operational satellites, rocket bodies, and fragments generated from explosions, collisions, or faulty payload assembly.

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https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/12?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

12, 1959-001B

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (US)

Manufacturer

GCR/Redlands

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

33-KS-2800, Unknown motor

Mass

22 kg wet, 22 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1959-02-17 (67 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

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Last TLE update: 1 day ago

TLE from 1 day ago

0 VANGUARD R/B
1    12U 59001B   26001.29008782  .00001990  00000-0  11391-2 0  9999
2    12  32.9086  93.4321 1648086 301.3029  43.6395 11.48449649512138

Epoch: 2026-01-01T06:57Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-01-01T06:57:43.587Z)

Latitude

-0.00003°

Longitude

-111.94634°

Altitude

1,058.208 km

Speed

7.694 km/s

True Right ascension

06h 13m 43s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow 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

06:16:22

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

3,291.497 km

Perigee altitude

555.187 km

Semi-major axis

8,301.479 km

Eccentricity

0.16481

Inclination

32.9086°

RAAN

93.4321°

Arg. of periapsis

301.3029°

True anomaly

58.75701°

Mean anomaly

43.6395°

Eccentric anomaly

50.97541°

Mean motion

2.86952 °/min

Orbital period

125.46 mins

BSTAR

0.0011391

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Other satellites on launch #1 in the year 1959 (1959-02-17 UTC)

VANGUARD DEB, 14934 (Decayed)

VANGUARD 2, 11

VANGUARD DEB, 61446

VANGUARD DEB, 5807 (Decayed)

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VANGUARD R/B Visibility forecast

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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.
19 mins	2026-01-02 08:09:11.468Z	191.547° SSW	2026-01-02 08:16:11.468Z	141.391° SSE	26.074°	2026-01-02 08:28:11.468Z	88.161° E
27 mins	2026-01-02 10:20:11.468Z	234.103° WSW	2026-01-02 10:30:11.468Z	159.26° S	40.682°	2026-01-02 10:47:11.468Z	90.183° ESE
33 mins	2026-01-02 12:33:11.468Z	260.496° W	2026-01-02 12:46:11.468Z	186.574° SSW	42.831°	2026-01-02 13:06:11.468Z	107.573° ESE
33 mins	2026-01-02 14:48:11.468Z	270.738° WNW	2026-01-02 15:03:11.468Z	206.92° SW	38.347°	2026-01-02 15:21:11.468Z	136.317° SSE
25 mins	2026-01-02 17:06:11.468Z	265.949° W	2026-01-02 17:19:11.468Z	222.165° SW	23.723°	2026-01-02 17:31:11.468Z	177.638° S

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Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

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

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

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Check out VANGUARD R/B, 12 on other resources

View VANGUARD R/B, 12 on Heavens-Above

View VANGUARD R/B, 12 on Keep Track

View VANGUARD R/B, 12 on Celestrak

View VANGUARD R/B, 12 on Gunter's Space Page

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

VANGUARD R/B, 12

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 1 day ago

TLE from 1 day ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-01-01T06:57:43.587Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #1 in the year 1959 (1959-02-17 UTC)

VANGUARD R/B Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out VANGUARD R/B, 12 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 1 day ago