POLAR BEAR, 17070
Orbit data source: Space-Track
POLAR BEAR, 17070 is an American payload satellite in LEO that was launched on Fri, 14 Nov 1986 UTC via an SCOUT G-1 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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17070 intel report (Beta)
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Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
APL
Mission
Civil Science
Bus & Motor
TRANSIT 5, Unknown motor
Mass
114 kg wet, 114 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Oct Cyl + 4 Pan + 1 Ant, 15.0 m
Radar Cross Section
0.163 m², Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 14 hours ago
TLE from 14 hours ago
0 POLAR BEAR
1 17070U 86088A 26236.83546488 .00000075 00000-0 66185-4 0 9992
2 17070 89.6247 173.6600 0041504 71.7014 300.4269 13.75297982994852Epoch: 2026-08-24T20:03Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-08-24T20:03:04.165Z)
Latitude
11.6709°
Longitude
-100.1417°
Altitude
967.469 km
Speed
7.376 km/s
True Right ascension
11h 34m 56s
True Declination
11° 36' 18"
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
01:11:32
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,008.154 km
Perigee altitude
947.096 km
Semi-major axis
7,355.762 km
Eccentricity
0.00415
Inclination
89.6247°
RAAN
173.66°
Arg. of periapsis
71.7014°
True anomaly
300.01572°
Mean anomaly
300.4269°
Eccentric anomaly
300.22142°
Mean motion
3.44034 °/min
Orbital period
104.64 mins
BSTAR
0.000066185
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Other satellites on launch #88 in the year 1986 (1986-11-14 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.POLAR BEAR 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 mins | 2026-08-25 18:50:17.520Z | 112.08° ESE | 2026-08-25 18:54:17.520Z | 69.821° E | 16.809° | 2026-08-25 18:57:17.520Z | 37.911° NE |
| 10 mins | 2026-08-25 20:33:17.520Z | 191.482° SSW | 2026-08-25 20:38:17.520Z | 288.458° WNW | 41.792° | 2026-08-25 20:43:17.520Z | 350.812° N |
| 10 mins | 2026-08-26 07:31:17.520Z | 22.702° NE | 2026-08-26 07:35:17.520Z | 80.294° E | 34.161° | 2026-08-26 07:41:17.520Z | 156.844° SSE |
| 8 mins | 2026-08-26 09:16:17.520Z | 328.05° NNW | 2026-08-26 09:20:17.520Z | 275.565° WNW | 24.173° | 2026-08-26 09:24:17.520Z | 231.464° WSW |
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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