VANGUARD 3, 20
Orbit data source: Space-Track
VANGUARD 3, 20 is a payload satellite owned by GSFC (US) in LEO that was launched on Fri, 18 Sep 1959 UTC via a VANGUARD launch vehicle from the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR). 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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Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
NRL
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
NRL 20", Unknown motor
Mass
47 kg wet, 23 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown
Radar Cross Section
Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 1 day ago
TLE from 1 day ago
0 VANGUARD 3
1 00020U 59007A 26067.52110656 .00001112 00000-0 42873-3 0 9992
2 00020 33.3511 269.3714 1638481 233.9073 109.8636 11.61866609472909Epoch: 2026-03-08T12:30Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-08T12:30:23.606Z)
Latitude
0.00001°
Longitude
-84.45416°
Altitude
2,491.292 km
Speed
6.442 km/s
True Right ascension
17h 57m 29s
True Declination
0° 00' 00"
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
22:32:35
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
3,208.984 km
Perigee altitude
509.608 km
Semi-major axis
8,237.433 km
Eccentricity
0.16385
Inclination
33.3511°
RAAN
269.3714°
Arg. of periapsis
233.9073°
True anomaly
126.1508°
Mean anomaly
109.8636°
Eccentric anomaly
118.14162°
Mean motion
2.90306 °/min
Orbital period
124.01 mins
BSTAR
0.00042873
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Other satellites on launch #7 in the year 1959 (1959-09-18 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.VANGUARD 3 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 mins | 2026-03-09 19:52:14.937Z | 264.334° W | 2026-03-09 20:10:14.937Z | 193.357° SSW | 42.857° | 2026-03-09 20:24:14.937Z | 109.458° ESE |
| 25 mins | 2026-03-09 22:09:14.937Z | 273.94° WNW | 2026-03-09 22:24:14.937Z | 210.45° SW | 35.583° | 2026-03-09 22:34:14.937Z | 143.249° SSE |
| 9 mins | 2026-03-10 00:30:14.937Z | 253.619° W | 2026-03-10 00:34:14.937Z | 234.593° WSW | 14.457° | 2026-03-10 00:39:14.937Z | 204.784° SW |
| 25 mins | 2026-03-10 14:06:14.937Z | 181.32° SSW | 2026-03-10 14:17:14.937Z | 134.016° SE | 25.017° | 2026-03-10 14:31:14.937Z | 88.036° E |
| 32 mins | 2026-03-10 16:15:14.937Z | 224.147° SW | 2026-03-10 16:30:14.937Z | 155.796° SSE | 39.368° | 2026-03-10 16:47:14.937Z | 86.716° E |
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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