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: 15 hours ago
TLE from 15 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 25345.19342874 -.00000030 00000-0 34574-4 0 9997
2 02173 100.5487 193.4665 0055555 17.8513 89.1074 13.33708873898562Epoch: 2025-12-11T04:38Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-11T04:38:32.243Z)
Latitude
69.64847°
Longitude
-106.356°
Altitude
1,144.324 km
Speed
7.287 km/s
True Right ascension
02h 53m 43s
True Declination
69° 32' 31"
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
18:25:43
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.887 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.462 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.311 km
Eccentricity
0.00556
Inclination
100.5487°
RAAN
193.4665°
Arg. of periapsis
17.8513°
True anomaly
89.74399°
Mean anomaly
89.1074°
Eccentric anomaly
89.42569°
Mean motion
3.33603 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000034574
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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 | 2025-12-12 02:19:02.856Z | 31.283° NE | 2025-12-12 02:25:02.856Z | 102.4° ESE | 34.865° | 2025-12-12 02:31:02.856Z | 169.284° S |
| 11 mins | 2025-12-12 04:06:02.856Z | 353.762° N | 2025-12-12 04:11:02.856Z | 296.745° NW | 29.725° | 2025-12-12 04:17:02.856Z | 235.43° WSW |
| 9 mins | 2025-12-12 12:41:02.856Z | 103.943° ESE | 2025-12-12 12:45:02.856Z | 54.549° ENE | 24.768° | 2025-12-12 12:50:02.856Z | 5.973° NNE |
| 10 mins | 2025-12-12 14:26:02.856Z | 188.662° SSW | 2025-12-12 14:31:02.856Z | 273.851° WNW | 38.203° | 2025-12-12 14:36:02.856Z | 331.653° 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 descending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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