MIDAS 3, 163
Orbit data source: Space-Track
MIDAS 3, 163 is a payload satellite owned by USAF SSD (US) in LEO that was launched on Wed, 12 Jul 1961 UTC via an ATLAS AGENA B 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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163 intel report (Beta)
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Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
LMSC
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
MIDAS, Unknown motor
Mass
~1,540 kg wet, 840 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown
Radar Cross Section
Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 8 hours ago
TLE from 8 hours ago
0 MIDAS 3
1 163U 61018A 26198.03378100 -.00000001 00000-0 -95055-3 0 9994
2 163 91.1163 206.5231 0102694 122.6702 238.4125 8.91839321116674Epoch: 2026-07-17T00:48Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-07-17T00:48:38.678Z)
Latitude
-0.00003°
Longitude
-100.50474°
Altitude
3,499.934 km
Speed
6.336 km/s
True Right ascension
13h 46m 05s
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
21:54:56
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
3,542.72 km
Perigee altitude
3,341.029 km
Semi-major axis
9,820.012 km
Eccentricity
0.01027
Inclination
91.1163°
RAAN
206.5231°
Arg. of periapsis
122.6702°
True anomaly
237.41681°
Mean anomaly
238.4125°
Eccentric anomaly
237.91398°
Mean motion
2.23036 °/min
Orbital period
161.41 mins
BSTAR
-0.00095055
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Other satellites on launch #18 in the year 1961 (1961-07-12 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.MIDAS 3 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 mins | 2026-07-17 09:43:33.702Z | 29.616° NE | 2026-07-17 09:51:33.702Z | 59.095° ENE | 14.107° | 2026-07-17 09:59:33.702Z | 88.823° E |
| 32 mins | 2026-07-17 12:21:33.702Z | 6.707° NNE | 2026-07-17 12:37:33.702Z | 101.06° ESE | 43.602° | 2026-07-17 12:53:33.702Z | 175.184° S |
| 26 mins | 2026-07-17 15:02:33.702Z | 350.397° N | 2026-07-17 15:15:33.702Z | 296.441° NW | 28.47° | 2026-07-17 15:28:33.702Z | 243.681° WSW |
| 26 mins | 2026-07-17 22:29:33.702Z | 110.733° ESE | 2026-07-17 22:42:33.702Z | 59.194° ENE | 26.636° | 2026-07-17 22:55:33.702Z | 8.729° NNE |
| 34 mins | 2026-07-18 01:03:33.702Z | 180.202° SSW | 2026-07-18 01:20:33.702Z | 280.95° WNW | 44.408° | 2026-07-18 01:37:33.702Z | 355.672° N |
| 19 mins | 2026-07-18 03:55:33.702Z | 262.657° W | 2026-07-18 04:04:33.702Z | 296.157° NW | 16.715° | 2026-07-18 04:14:33.702Z | 333.464° NNW |
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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