PORCUPINE 1, 1272
Orbit data source: Space-Track
PORCUPINE 1, 1272 is a payload satellite owned by NRL (US) in LEO that was launched on Tue, 09 Mar 1965 UTC via a THOR SLV-2 AGENA D launch vehicle from the Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR). Payload-class satellites include a variety of spacecraft equipped with specific instruments for various scientific and technological missions. These include communications satellites like Starlink; space stations such as the ISS; scientific satellites like the Hubble; Earth observation satellites from companies like Planet Labs, Umbra, and HawkEye 360; GPS; miniature CubeSats for education and research; and military/defense satellites.
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1272 intel report (Beta)
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Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
NRL
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
NRL 9", Unknown motor
Mass
4 kg wet, 4 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
SPHERE + 12 ANT, 1.1 m
Radar Cross Section
Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 22 hours ago
TLE from 22 hours ago
0 PORCUPINE 1
1 01272U 65016H 26270.78413440 -.00000017 00000-0 25987-4 0 9992
2 01272 70.0813 31.6848 0023073 341.2982 18.7273 13.94543069130687Epoch: 2026-09-27T18:49Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-09-27T18:49:09.212Z)
Latitude
-0.00002°
Longitude
102.82353°
Altitude
899.139 km
Speed
7.411 km/s
True Right ascension
02h 06m 44s
True Declination
0° 00' 00"
Sunlit
Visualization orbit readout
Latitude
Unknown
Longitude
Unknown
Altitude
Unknown
Speed
Unknown
Apparent Right ascension
Unknown
Apparent Declination
Unknown
Sunlit
Visualization observer readout
Local Sidereal Time
10:37:53
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
927.607 km
Perigee altitude
893.972 km
Semi-major axis
7,288.926 km
Eccentricity
0.00231
Inclination
70.0813°
RAAN
31.6848°
Arg. of periapsis
341.2982°
True anomaly
18.81242°
Mean anomaly
18.7273°
Eccentric anomaly
18.76984°
Mean motion
3.48777 °/min
Orbital period
103.22 mins
BSTAR
0.000025987
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Other satellites on launch #16 in the year 1965 (1965-03-09 UTC)
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You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.PORCUPINE 1 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mins | 2026-09-28 17:44:24.715Z | 4.888° NNE | 2026-09-28 17:48:24.715Z | 48.733° ENE | 21.291° | 2026-09-28 17:52:24.715Z | 94.035° ESE |
| 10 mins | 2026-09-28 19:30:24.715Z | 327.672° NNW | 2026-09-28 19:34:24.715Z | 273.708° WNW | 65.863° | 2026-09-28 19:40:24.715Z | 168.599° S |
| 10 mins | 2026-09-29 08:48:24.715Z | 173.768° S | 2026-09-29 08:53:24.715Z | 94.664° ESE | 44.154° | 2026-09-29 08:58:24.715Z | 37.489° NE |
| 8 mins | 2026-09-29 10:35:24.715Z | 257.977° W | 2026-09-29 10:38:24.715Z | 297.727° NW | 28.62° | 2026-09-29 10:43:24.715Z | 1.216° NNE |
Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs
Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions
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 |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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