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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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<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/1272?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/1272?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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Identifier

1272, 1965-016H

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

United States Navy (US)

Manufacturer

NRL

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

NRL 9", Unknown motor

Mass

4 kg wet, 4 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1965-03-09 (62 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR SLV-2 AGENA D

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

SPHERE + 12 ANT, 1.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

0 PORCUPINE 1
1 01272U 65016H   26317.26301229 -.00000002  00000-0  37212-4 0  9996
2 01272  70.0792 292.9436 0025065 285.0693  74.7639 13.94547226137162

Epoch: 2026-11-13T06:18Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-13T06:18:44.261Z)

Latitude

-0.00006°

Longitude

145.87449°

Altitude

910.294 km

Speed

7.4 km/s

True Right ascension

19h 31m 46s

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

10:09:14

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

929.045 km

Perigee altitude

892.505 km

Semi-major axis

7,288.912 km

Eccentricity

0.00251

Inclination

70.0792°

RAAN

292.9436°

Arg. of periapsis

285.0693°

True anomaly

75.04126°

Mean anomaly

74.7639°

Eccentric anomaly

74.90255°

Mean motion

3.48778 °/min

Orbital period

103.22 mins

BSTAR

0.000037212

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Other satellites on launch #16 in the year 1965 (1965-03-09 UTC)

OPS 4988 (GREB 6), 1271

THOR AGENA D R/B, 1245

OSCAR 3, 1293

SURCAL 2, 1310 (Decayed)

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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.
11 mins	2026-11-13 23:37:58.005Z	188.981° SSW	2026-11-13 23:43:58.005Z	85.083° E	61.124°	2026-11-13 23:48:58.005Z	31.488° NE
7 mins	2026-11-14 01:26:58.005Z	274.58° WNW	2026-11-14 01:29:58.005Z	312.939° NW	22.307°	2026-11-14 01:33:58.005Z	356.635° N
9 mins	2026-11-14 08:41:58.005Z	358.397° N	2026-11-14 08:45:58.005Z	55.066° ENE	37.524°	2026-11-14 08:50:58.005Z	121.217° SE
9 mins	2026-11-14 10:27:58.005Z	308.274° NW	2026-11-14 10:31:58.005Z	249.952° W	34.15°	2026-11-14 10:36:58.005Z	193.02° SSW

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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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Check out PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on other resources

View PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on Heavens-Above

View PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on Keep Track

View PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on Celestrak

View PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on Gunter's Space Page

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

PORCUPINE 1, 1272

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-13T06:18:44.261Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #16 in the year 1965 (1965-03-09 UTC)

PORCUPINE 1 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out PORCUPINE 1, 1272 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 7 hours ago