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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Edit Public Description
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, Unknown HBR
Radar Cross Section
0.163 m², Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 8 hours ago
TLE from 8 hours ago
0 POLAR BEAR
1 17070U 86088A 26002.00560250 .00000178 00000-0 17272-3 0 9991
2 17070 89.6176 182.9625 0040993 60.9344 96.2294 13.75255717962572Epoch: 2026-01-02T00:08Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-01-02T00:08:04.056Z)
Latitude
22.38241°
Longitude
-100.86309°
Altitude
986.966 km
Speed
7.358 km/s
True Right ascension
00h 11m 13s
True Declination
22° 15' 55"
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
07:34:32
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,007.93 km
Perigee altitude
947.622 km
Semi-major axis
7,355.913 km
Eccentricity
0.0041
Inclination
89.6176°
RAAN
182.9625°
Arg. of periapsis
60.9344°
True anomaly
96.69611°
Mean anomaly
96.2294°
Eccentric anomaly
96.46278°
Mean motion
3.44024 °/min
Orbital period
104.64 mins
BSTAR
0.00017272
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 mins | 2026-01-02 11:42:08.962Z | 150.574° SSE | 2026-01-02 11:47:08.962Z | 93.563° ESE | 34.61° | 2026-01-02 11:53:08.962Z | 11.88° NNE |
| 8 mins | 2026-01-02 13:29:08.962Z | 236.822° WSW | 2026-01-02 13:32:08.962Z | 275.21° WNW | 22.978° | 2026-01-02 13:37:08.962Z | 332.099° NNW |
| 4 mins | 2026-01-02 22:43:08.962Z | 62.227° ENE | 2026-01-02 22:44:08.962Z | 72.991° E | 14.299° | 2026-01-02 22:47:08.962Z | 104.14° ESE |
| 10 mins | 2026-01-03 00:25:08.962Z | 357.01° N | 2026-01-03 00:30:08.962Z | 235.867° WSW | 43.717° | 2026-01-03 00:35:08.962Z | 190.34° SSW |
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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Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by TCA header in descending order |
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