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: 5 hours ago
TLE from 5 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 26102.33233417 -.00000024 00000-0 46465-4 0 9992
2 02173 100.5392 319.0409 0055934 91.4156 82.6065 13.33714736914844Epoch: 2026-04-12T07:58Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-04-12T07:58:33.672Z)
Latitude
5.17159°
Longitude
179.82169°
Altitude
1,129.82 km
Speed
7.291 km/s
True Right ascension
09h 20m 00s
True Declination
5° 08' 32"
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
19:41:35
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,172.149 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.155 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.289 km
Eccentricity
0.00559
Inclination
100.5392°
RAAN
319.0409°
Arg. of periapsis
91.4156°
True anomaly
83.24269°
Mean anomaly
82.6065°
Eccentric anomaly
82.92454°
Mean motion
3.33604 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000046465
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 mins | 2026-04-12 14:24:01.423Z | 169.403° S | 2026-04-12 14:31:01.423Z | 287.042° WNW | 43.681° | 2026-04-12 14:37:01.423Z | 340.588° N |
| 6 mins | 2026-04-13 01:46:01.423Z | 61.592° ENE | 2026-04-13 01:49:01.423Z | 90.136° ESE | 14.998° | 2026-04-13 01:52:01.423Z | 119.058° SE |
| 11 mins | 2026-04-13 03:31:01.423Z | 13.495° NNE | 2026-04-13 03:36:01.423Z | 305.596° NW | 44.747° | 2026-04-13 03:42:01.423Z | 201.594° SSW |
| 5 mins | 2026-04-13 05:19:01.423Z | 329.305° NNW | 2026-04-13 05:21:01.423Z | 310.135° NW | 14.492° | 2026-04-13 05:24:01.423Z | 281.097° WNW |
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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