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: 10 hours ago
TLE from 10 hours ago
0 POLAR BEAR
1 17070U 86088A 26235.82062394 .00000083 00000-0 73704-4 0 9993
2 17070 89.6246 173.6999 0041506 74.5901 316.0497 13.75297863994719Epoch: 2026-08-23T19:41Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-08-23T19:41:41.908Z)
Latitude
30.35757°
Longitude
-93.61718°
Altitude
962.581 km
Speed
7.384 km/s
True Right ascension
11h 35m 40s
True Declination
30° 12' 43"
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
20:53:46
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,008.156 km
Perigee altitude
947.095 km
Semi-major axis
7,355.762 km
Eccentricity
0.00415
Inclination
89.6246°
RAAN
173.6999°
Arg. of periapsis
74.5901°
True anomaly
315.71837°
Mean anomaly
316.0497°
Eccentric anomaly
315.88416°
Mean motion
3.44034 °/min
Orbital period
104.64 mins
BSTAR
0.000073704
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 mins | 2026-08-24 06:39:09.352Z | 52.854° ENE | 2026-08-24 06:41:09.352Z | 72.65° E | 12.484° | 2026-08-24 06:43:09.352Z | 93.042° ESE |
| 10 mins | 2026-08-24 08:22:09.352Z | 0.146° NNE | 2026-08-24 08:27:09.352Z | 210.63° SW | 44.501° | 2026-08-24 08:32:09.352Z | 185.949° SSW |
| 10 mins | 2026-08-24 20:07:09.352Z | 165.262° S | 2026-08-24 20:11:09.352Z | 94.922° ESE | 43.506° | 2026-08-24 20:17:09.352Z | 2.85° NNE |
| 5 mins | 2026-08-24 21:54:09.352Z | 257.801° W | 2026-08-24 21:56:09.352Z | 279.277° WNW | 14.848° | 2026-08-24 21:59:09.352Z | 311.383° NW |
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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