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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

Last TLE update

9 hours ago

Origin

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

TLE from 9 hours ago

0 VANGUARD 3
1 00020U 59007A   25199.56846847  .00001107  00000-0  45874-3 0  9997
2 00020  33.3436  27.2853 1641068  66.1617 310.2105 11.60756486445814

Epoch: 2025-07-18T13:38Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-07-18T13:38:35.675Z)

Latitude

-0.00003°

Longitude

-113.98145°

Altitude

1,138.733 km

Speed

7.597 km/s

True Right ascension

01h 49m 08s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

-14.75424°

Longitude

88.12023°

Altitude

2,778.816 km

Speed

6.223 km/s

Apparent Right ascension

17h 31m 41s

Apparent Declination

-41° 49' 12"

Sunlit

Object is in daylight

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

11:42:48

Azimuth

125.687° SE

Elevation

-23.587°

Doppler factor

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

3,217.225 km

Perigee altitude

511.865 km

Semi-major axis

8,242.682 km

Eccentricity

0.16411

Inclination

33.3436°

RAAN

27.2853°

Arg. of periapsis

66.1617°

True anomaly

293.8993°

Mean anomaly

310.2105°

Eccentric anomaly

302.25925°

Mean motion

2.90028 °/min

Orbital period

124.13 mins

BSTAR

0.00045874

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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°

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.
4 mins	2025-07-19 16:45:17.569Z	205.978° SW	2025-07-19 16:47:17.569Z	168.654° S	18.864°	2025-07-19 16:49:17.569Z	127.284° SE
5 mins	2025-07-19 18:56:17.569Z	219.694° SW	2025-07-19 18:57:17.569Z	192.307° SSW	28.323°	2025-07-19 19:01:17.569Z	117.646° SE
7 mins	2025-07-19 21:06:17.569Z	227.394° WSW	2025-07-19 21:08:17.569Z	193.361° SSW	22.956°	2025-07-19 21:13:17.569Z	142.089° SSE

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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Authenticating...

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Check out VANGUARD 3, 20 on other resources

View VANGUARD 3, 20 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View VANGUARD 3, 20 on Heavens-Above

View VANGUARD 3, 20 on Keep Track

View VANGUARD 3, 20 on Celestrak

View VANGUARD 3, 20 on Gunter's Space Page

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