WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688

Orbit data source: Space-Track

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 is space debris in LEO originally from a launch on Thu, 09 May 1963 UTC launched from the Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR). Debris objects in space refer to the collection of defunct objects orbiting the Earth. Examples of debris include non-operational satellites, rocket bodies, and fragments generated from explosions, collisions, or faulty payload assembly.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/18688?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/18688?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

Optional Secondary NORAD IDs

Max 10 NORAD IDs; Separated by commas

Initial load time (optional)

ISO8601 Format

TLE date request (optional)

ISO8601 Format

Identifier

18688, 1963-014DM

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

United States Space Force (US)

Manufacturer

Unknown

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

Unknown

Mass

Unknown

Launch date (UTC)

1963-05-09 (63 years ago)

Launch vehicle

Unknown

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown shape, 1.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 6 days ago

TLE from 6 days ago

0 WESTFORD NEEDLES
1 18688U 63014DM  26074.49659637 -.00000010  00000-0 -58955-2 0  9990
2 18688  87.3532 211.4095 0027784 205.9283 154.0180  8.65107044111232

Epoch: 2026-03-15T11:55Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-15T11:55:05.926Z)

Latitude

0.00001°

Longitude

-140.46778°

Altitude

3,672.66 km

Speed

6.29 km/s

True Right ascension

14h 05m 38s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow 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

09:55:24

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

3,671.089 km

Perigee altitude

3,615.402 km

Semi-major axis

10,021.382 km

Eccentricity

0.00278

Inclination

87.3532°

RAAN

211.4095°

Arg. of periapsis

205.9283°

True anomaly

154.15704°

Mean anomaly

154.018°

Eccentric anomaly

154.08757°

Mean motion

2.16347 °/min

Orbital period

166.4 mins

BSTAR

-0.0058955

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

Other satellites on launch #14 in the year 1963 (1963-05-09 UTC)

ERS 5, 579 (Decayed)

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 19299

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 2522 (Decayed)

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18962

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 2431

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 19109

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 602

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 2997

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 19946

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 3258 (Decayed)

WESTFORD NEEDLES *, 3267

MIDAS 6 (FTV 1169), 574

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 2361

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 3255

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 3244

Did you know?

You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.

Click here to try in Sandbox

WESTFORD NEEDLES Visibility forecast

Loading observer location...
Set Observer location

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.
29 mins	2026-03-21 06:46:57.056Z	119.099° SE	2026-03-21 07:01:57.056Z	64.498° ENE	27.607°	2026-03-21 07:15:57.056Z	13.555° NNE
36 mins	2026-03-21 09:27:57.056Z	187.861° SSW	2026-03-21 09:45:57.056Z	281.361° WNW	44.013°	2026-03-21 10:03:57.056Z	0.042° NNE
21 mins	2026-03-21 12:27:57.056Z	272.859° WNW	2026-03-21 12:37:57.056Z	307.604° NW	16.491°	2026-03-21 12:48:57.056Z	345.119° N
31 mins	2026-03-21 18:33:57.056Z	8.671° NNE	2026-03-21 18:49:57.056Z	71.883° E	29.567°	2026-03-21 19:04:57.056Z	129.638° SE
35 mins	2026-03-21 21:20:57.056Z	354.324° N	2026-03-21 21:37:57.056Z	272.982° WNW	43.025°	2026-03-21 21:55:57.056Z	199.427° SSW
14 mins	2026-03-22 00:11:57.056Z	330.498° NNW	2026-03-22 00:17:57.056Z	309.886° NW	14.514°	2026-03-22 00:25:57.056Z	282.588° WNW

Items per page:

1–6 of 6 items

of 1 page

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

Please sign-in to view Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs.

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

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

Authenticating...

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

Check out WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on other resources

View WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on Heavens-Above

View WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on Keep Track

View WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on Celestrak

View WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on Gunter's Space Page

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

WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 6 days ago

TLE from 6 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-15T11:55:05.926Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #14 in the year 1963 (1963-05-09 UTC)

WESTFORD NEEDLES Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out WESTFORD NEEDLES, 18688 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 6 days ago