NIMBUS 2, 2173
Orbit data source: Space-Track
NIMBUS 2, 2173 is a payload satellite owned by GSFC (US) in SSO that was launched on Sun, 15 May 1966 UTC via a THOR SLV-2A AGENA B 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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Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
GE/MSVD
Mission
Non-operational spacecraft
Bus & Motor
NIMBUS, Unknown motor
Mass
414 kg wet, 414 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown
Radar Cross Section
Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 13 hours ago
TLE from 13 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 25315.18860125 .00000002 00000-0 98730-4 0 9999
2 02173 100.5518 162.6013 0055839 87.5637 25.9488 13.33707207894561Epoch: 2025-11-11T04:31Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-11-11T04:31:35.148Z)
Latitude
64.18489°
Longitude
-113.34839°
Altitude
1,106.083 km
Speed
7.324 km/s
True Right ascension
00h 20m 30s
True Declination
64° 03' 22"
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
13:37:55
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,172.107 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.255 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.318 km
Eccentricity
0.00558
Inclination
100.5518°
RAAN
162.6013°
Arg. of periapsis
87.5637°
True anomaly
26.23055°
Mean anomaly
25.9488°
Eccentric anomaly
26.0895°
Mean motion
3.33602 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.00009873
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Other satellites on launch #40 in the year 1966 (1966-05-15 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.NIMBUS 2 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 mins | 2025-11-12 02:09:59.949Z | 31.405° NE | 2025-11-12 02:15:59.949Z | 98.121° ESE | 32.944° | 2025-11-12 02:21:59.949Z | 166.684° S |
| 10 mins | 2025-11-12 03:57:59.949Z | 350.579° N | 2025-11-12 04:01:59.949Z | 300.719° NW | 30.224° | 2025-11-12 04:07:59.949Z | 234.135° WSW |
| 9 mins | 2025-11-12 12:31:59.949Z | 105.492° ESE | 2025-11-12 12:35:59.949Z | 60.574° ENE | 23.871° | 2025-11-12 12:40:59.949Z | 8.882° NNE |
| 11 mins | 2025-11-12 14:16:59.949Z | 184.506° SSW | 2025-11-12 14:21:59.949Z | 261.566° W | 39.802° | 2025-11-12 14:27:59.949Z | 334.643° NNW |
Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs
Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions
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 ascending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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