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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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<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/20?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/20?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

20, 1959-007A

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (US)

Manufacturer

NRL

Mission

Civil Science

Bus & Motor

NRL 20", Unknown motor

Mass

47 kg wet, 23 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1959-09-18 (66 years ago)

Launch vehicle

VANGUARD

Launch site

Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Sphere + Cyl, 1.3 m

Radar Cross Section

1.104 m², Medium (>0.1 m² and < 1m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 18 hours ago

TLE from 18 hours ago

0 VANGUARD 3
1 00020U 59007A   25245.58991874  .00004503  00000-0  18195-2 0  9990
2 00020  33.3477 221.9252 1640593 312.4297  34.8463 11.60936777451162

Epoch: 2025-09-02T14:09Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-09-02T14:09:28.979Z)

Latitude

0°

Longitude

27.57548°

Altitude

839.939 km

Speed

7.88 km/s

True Right ascension

14h 47m 42s

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

23:37:59

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

3,215.84 km

Perigee altitude

511.543 km

Semi-major axis

8,241.828 km

Eccentricity

0.16406

Inclination

33.3477°

RAAN

221.9252°

Arg. of periapsis

312.4297°

True anomaly

47.63129°

Mean anomaly

34.8463°

Eccentric anomaly

41.01506°

Mean motion

2.90073 °/min

Orbital period

124.11 mins

BSTAR

0.0018195

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Other satellites on launch #7 in the year 1959 (1959-09-18 UTC)

VANGUARD 3 DEB, 29005 (Decayed)

VANGUARD 3 DEB, 31405 (Decayed)

VANGUARD 3 Visibility forecast

Observer location: undefined°, undefined°
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	2025-09-03 09:23:39.212Z	270.739° WNW	2025-09-03 09:38:39.212Z	218.031° SW	26.896°	2025-09-03 09:52:39.212Z	167.334° S
19 mins	2025-09-04 01:26:39.212Z	207.107° SW	2025-09-04 01:33:39.212Z	143.98° SSE	32.082°	2025-09-04 01:45:39.212Z	87.129° E
26 mins	2025-09-04 03:36:39.212Z	245.868° WSW	2025-09-04 03:45:39.212Z	173.975° S	42.213°	2025-09-04 04:02:39.212Z	95.089° ESE
32 mins	2025-09-04 05:47:39.212Z	266.513° W	2025-09-04 06:00:39.212Z	190.039° SSW	41.991°	2025-09-04 06:19:39.212Z	116.676° SE