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, 1.8 m
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 02173U 66040A 26215.58030858 -.00000030 00000-0 34312-4 0 9993
2 02173 100.5235 75.2897 0055130 185.6048 230.1942 13.33721068929943Epoch: 2026-08-03T13:55Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-08-03T13:55:38.661Z)
Latitude
54.0441°
Longitude
-100.54422°
Altitude
1,168.164 km
Speed
7.261 km/s
True Right ascension
04h 02m 06s
True Declination
53° 53' 22"
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
17:56:42
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.52 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.734 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.264 km
Eccentricity
0.00551
Inclination
100.5235°
RAAN
75.2897°
Arg. of periapsis
185.6048°
True anomaly
229.71102°
Mean anomaly
230.1942°
Eccentric anomaly
229.9524°
Mean motion
3.33606 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.000034312
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 mins | 2026-08-04 04:38:12.068Z | 358.486° N | 2026-08-04 04:44:12.068Z | 288.985° WNW | 31.036° | 2026-08-04 04:49:12.068Z | 234.343° WSW |
| 9 mins | 2026-08-04 13:13:12.068Z | 104.476° ESE | 2026-08-04 13:17:12.068Z | 62.052° ENE | 23.911° | 2026-08-04 13:22:12.068Z | 10.707° NNE |
| 11 mins | 2026-08-04 14:58:12.068Z | 182.187° SSW | 2026-08-04 15:03:12.068Z | 258.942° W | 41.134° | 2026-08-04 15:09:12.068Z | 335.264° NNW |
| 7 mins | 2026-08-05 02:19:12.068Z | 61.553° ENE | 2026-08-05 02:22:12.068Z | 94.325° ESE | 19.262° | 2026-08-05 02:26:12.068Z | 134.757° SE |
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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