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: 14 hours ago
TLE from 14 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 2173U 66040A 26032.46985189 -.00000019 00000-0 57349-4 0 9995
2 2173 100.5469 247.2301 0054834 255.0098 167.2610 13.33710571905538Epoch: 2026-02-01T11:16Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-01T11:16:35.203Z)
Latitude
60.7026°
Longitude
-72.87249°
Altitude
1,183.222 km
Speed
7.248 km/s
True Right ascension
15h 11m 48s
True Declination
60° 33' 50"
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
02:55:32
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.339 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.997 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.305 km
Eccentricity
0.00548
Inclination
100.5469°
RAAN
247.2301°
Arg. of periapsis
255.0098°
True anomaly
167.39864°
Mean anomaly
167.261°
Eccentric anomaly
167.32991°
Mean motion
3.33603 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000057349
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mins | 2026-02-02 02:00:01.788Z | 44.652° NE | 2026-02-02 02:05:01.788Z | 97.699° ESE | 24.355° | 2026-02-02 02:10:01.788Z | 148.333° SSE |
| 11 mins | 2026-02-02 03:46:01.788Z | 3.51° NNE | 2026-02-02 03:51:01.788Z | 304.572° NW | 38.887° | 2026-02-02 03:57:01.788Z | 220.082° SW |
| 7 mins | 2026-02-02 12:22:01.788Z | 84.168° E | 2026-02-02 12:25:01.788Z | 54.236° ENE | 17.897° | 2026-02-02 12:29:01.788Z | 17.482° NNE |
| 12 mins | 2026-02-02 14:05:01.788Z | 164.659° S | 2026-02-02 14:10:01.788Z | 196.363° SSW | 44.78° | 2026-02-02 14:17:01.788Z | 343.309° N |
| 4 mins | 2026-02-02 15:56:01.788Z | 257.275° W | 2026-02-02 15:57:01.788Z | 266.45° W | 13.343° | 2026-02-02 16:00:01.788Z | 293.383° NW |
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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