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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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: 8 hours ago
TLE from 8 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 26040.57015714 -.00000037 00000-0 22814-4 0 9993
2 02173 100.5465 255.5596 0054856 235.8655 179.9189 13.33710875906619Epoch: 2026-02-09T13:41Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-09T13:41:01.576Z)
Latitude
54.48381°
Longitude
-104.40253°
Altitude
1,182.864 km
Speed
7.247 km/s
True Right ascension
16h 02m 04s
True Declination
54° 19' 49"
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
00:04:26
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.354 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.979 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.304 km
Eccentricity
0.00549
Inclination
100.5465°
RAAN
255.5596°
Arg. of periapsis
235.8655°
True anomaly
179.91978°
Mean anomaly
179.9189°
Eccentric anomaly
179.91934°
Mean motion
3.33603 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000022814
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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 | 2026-02-10 02:36:55.769Z | 28.452° NE | 2026-02-10 02:42:55.769Z | 101.014° ESE | 37.381° | 2026-02-10 02:48:55.769Z | 173.755° S |
| 9 mins | 2026-02-10 04:24:55.769Z | 345.832° N | 2026-02-10 04:28:55.769Z | 298.049° NW | 27.039° | 2026-02-10 04:33:55.769Z | 244.132° WSW |
| 10 mins | 2026-02-10 12:57:55.769Z | 112.69° SE | 2026-02-10 13:01:55.769Z | 66.859° ENE | 28.342° | 2026-02-10 13:07:55.769Z | 3.859° NNE |
| 12 mins | 2026-02-10 14:42:55.769Z | 190.78° SSW | 2026-02-10 14:47:55.769Z | 251.718° W | 36.656° | 2026-02-10 14:54:55.769Z | 332.738° 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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