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USA 22, 17997

Orbit data source: Space-Track

USA 22, 17997 is an American payload satellite in LEO that was launched on Fri, 15 May 1987 UTC via an ATLAS H 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/17997?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/17997?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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Identifier

17997, 1987-043A

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

National Reconnaissance Office (US)

Manufacturer

Martin Marietta

Mission

Defense Sigint

Bus & Motor

NOSS MSD, Unknown motor

Mass

590 kg wet, 559 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1987-05-15 (39 years ago)

Launch vehicle

ATLAS H

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Cyl, 0.8 m

Radar Cross Section

2.769 m², Large (>1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

0 USA 22
1 17997U 87043A   26171.40672067  .00009024  00000-0  45348-3 0  9996
2 17997  63.2893 185.9584 0678368 108.1493 259.4609 14.12964010106943

Epoch: 2026-06-20T09:45Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-20T09:45:40.665Z)

Latitude

-0.00007°

Longitude

130.91713°

Altitude

972.236 km

Speed

7.304 km/s

True Right ascension

12h 23m 50s

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

00:39:47

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

1,338.244 km

Perigee altitude

357.842 km

Semi-major axis

7,226.18 km

Eccentricity

0.06784

Inclination

63.2893°

RAAN

185.9584°

Arg. of periapsis

108.1493°

True anomaly

251.95677°

Mean anomaly

259.4609°

Eccentric anomaly

255.69466°

Mean motion

3.5333 °/min

Orbital period

101.89 mins

BSTAR

0.00045348

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Other satellites on launch #43 in the year 1987 (1987-05-15 UTC)

USA 22 DEB, 18008 (Decayed)

USA 22 DEB, 18024

USA 22 DEB, 44301 (Decayed)

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USA 22 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.
8 mins	2026-06-23 02:26:15.931Z	215.322° SW	2026-06-23 02:31:15.931Z	337.111° NNW	44.65°	2026-06-23 02:34:15.931Z	31.533° NE
4 mins	2026-06-23 11:22:15.931Z	289.514° WNW	2026-06-23 11:23:15.931Z	239.353° WSW	35.613°	2026-06-23 11:26:15.931Z	165.782° S

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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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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings

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Check out USA 22, 17997 on other resources

View USA 22, 17997 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View USA 22, 17997 on Heavens-Above

View USA 22, 17997 on Keep Track

View USA 22, 17997 on Celestrak

View USA 22, 17997 on Gunter's Space Page

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

USA 22, 17997

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-20T09:45:40.665Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #43 in the year 1987 (1987-05-15 UTC)

USA 22 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out USA 22, 17997 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 days ago