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.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/12?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/12?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

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)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 20 hours ago

TLE from 20 hours ago

0 VANGUARD R/B
1 00012U 59001B   26061.46412065  .00000644  00000-0  35242-3 0  9994
2 00012  32.9082 241.3617 1647324 259.9593  81.1890 11.48553360519055

Epoch: 2026-03-02T11:08Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-02T11:08:20.024Z)

Latitude

0.00002°

Longitude

-85.97887°

Altitude

1,933.544 km

Speed

6.922 km/s

True Right ascension

16h 05m 26s

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

10:44:15

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

3,290.282 km

Perigee altitude

555.402 km

Semi-major axis

8,300.979 km

Eccentricity

0.16473

Inclination

32.9082°

RAAN

241.3617°

Arg. of periapsis

259.9593°

True anomaly

100.09947°

Mean anomaly

81.189°

Eccentric anomaly

90.62691°

Mean motion

2.86978 °/min

Orbital period

125.44 mins

BSTAR

0.00035242

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

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

VANGUARD DEB, 61446

VANGUARD 2, 11

VANGUARD DEB, 5807 (Decayed)

VANGUARD DEB, 14934 (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

VANGUARD R/B 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.
15 mins	2026-03-03 12:17:26.389Z	156.392° SSE	2026-03-03 12:23:26.389Z	129.756° SE	15.425°	2026-03-03 12:32:26.389Z	98.141° ESE
30 mins	2026-03-03 14:24:26.389Z	210.75° SW	2026-03-03 14:37:26.389Z	144.713° SSE	35.077°	2026-03-03 14:54:26.389Z	85.183° E
35 mins	2026-03-03 16:37:26.389Z	244.89° WSW	2026-03-03 16:53:26.389Z	168.54° S	42.608°	2026-03-03 17:12:26.389Z	93.064° ESE
34 mins	2026-03-03 18:53:26.389Z	266.116° W	2026-03-03 19:11:26.389Z	186.882° SSW	42.525°	2026-03-03 19:27:26.389Z	114.605° SE
28 mins	2026-03-03 21:11:26.389Z	273.067° WNW	2026-03-03 21:27:26.389Z	211.238° SW	34.543°	2026-03-03 21:39:26.389Z	149.355° SSE
11 mins	2026-03-03 23:34:26.389Z	254.148° W	2026-03-03 23:40:26.389Z	230.96° WSW	14.193°	2026-03-03 23:45:26.389Z	207.925° SW

Items per page:

1–6 of 6 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 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: 20 hours ago

TLE from 20 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-02T11:08:20.024Z)

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: 20 hours ago