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
CONE + 2 PAN, 1.1 m
Radar Cross Section
Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 11 hours ago
TLE from 11 hours ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 26310.42361789 -.00000029 00000-0 37512-4 0 9995
2 02173 100.5049 172.5135 0055148 324.4990 210.1095 13.33725304942589Epoch: 2026-11-06T10:10Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-06T10:10:00.585Z)
Latitude
5.53327°
Longitude
155.39168°
Altitude
1,170.828 km
Speed
7.251 km/s
True Right ascension
23h 34m 09s
True Declination
5° 30' 08"
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
17:37:24
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.517 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.704 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.247 km
Eccentricity
0.00551
Inclination
100.5049°
RAAN
172.5135°
Arg. of periapsis
324.499°
True anomaly
209.79436°
Mean anomaly
210.1095°
Eccentric anomaly
209.95174°
Mean motion
3.33607 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000037512
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mins | 2026-11-07 02:09:26.503Z | 62.583° ENE | 2026-11-07 02:12:26.503Z | 88.599° E | 13.754° | 2026-11-07 02:15:26.503Z | 114.951° SE |
| 12 mins | 2026-11-07 03:54:26.503Z | 17.669° NNE | 2026-11-07 03:59:26.503Z | 57.2° ENE | 82.917° | 2026-11-07 04:06:26.503Z | 195.473° SSW |
| 7 mins | 2026-11-07 05:42:26.503Z | 331.033° NNW | 2026-11-07 05:45:26.503Z | 300.563° NW | 19.106° | 2026-11-07 05:49:26.503Z | 264.537° W |
| 11 mins | 2026-11-07 14:13:26.503Z | 137.975° SSE | 2026-11-07 14:18:26.503Z | 73.206° E | 52.841° | 2026-11-07 14:24:26.503Z | 355.604° N |
| 9 mins | 2026-11-07 16:01:26.503Z | 220.848° SW | 2026-11-07 16:05:26.503Z | 268.303° W | 26.943° | 2026-11-07 16:10:26.503Z | 318.437° NNW |
Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs
Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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