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.
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Embed this page
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
2173 intel report (Beta)
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Create New Watchlist
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
GE/MSVD
Mission
Non-operational Civil Weather
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, 1.7 m
Radar Cross Section
2.947 m², Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 1 day ago
TLE from 1 day ago
0 NIMBUS 2
1 02173U 66040A 25260.06070502 -.00000016 00000-0 63760-4 0 9998
2 02173 100.5614 105.8626 0054883 216.2231 298.6622 13.33702100887216Epoch: 2025-09-17T01:27Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-09-17T01:27:24.913Z)
Latitude
25.23317°
Longitude
-87.21819°
Altitude
1,116.125 km
Speed
7.306 km/s
True Right ascension
19h 23m 30s
True Declination
25° 06' 26"
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
19:10:14
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,171.409 km
Perigee altitude
1,088.993 km
Semi-major axis
7,508.338 km
Eccentricity
0.00549
Inclination
100.5614°
RAAN
105.8626°
Arg. of periapsis
216.2231°
True anomaly
298.10854°
Mean anomaly
298.6622°
Eccentric anomaly
298.38555°
Mean motion
3.33601 °/min
Orbital period
107.91 mins
BSTAR
0.00006376
Loading maneuver chart data...
Computing Atmospheric mass density...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Loading historical data...
Other satellites on launch #40 in the year 1966 (1966-05-15 UTC)
Did you know?
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
Loading observer location...
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 | 2025-09-18 02:29:39.398Z | 22.895° NE | 2025-09-18 02:35:39.398Z | 111.017° ESE | 42.525° | 2025-09-18 02:41:39.398Z | 185.246° SSW |
| 8 mins | 2025-09-18 04:17:39.398Z | 340.003° N | 2025-09-18 04:21:39.398Z | 295.932° NW | 21.394° | 2025-09-18 04:25:39.398Z | 256.489° W |
| 11 mins | 2025-09-18 12:49:39.398Z | 127.264° SE | 2025-09-18 12:54:39.398Z | 65.154° ENE | 34.2° | 2025-09-18 13:00:39.398Z | 358.975° N |
| 11 mins | 2025-09-18 14:35:39.398Z | 202.047° SSW | 2025-09-18 14:40:39.398Z | 256.934° W | 30.389° | 2025-09-18 14:46:39.398Z | 324.095° NNW |
| 10 mins | 2025-09-19 01:55:39.398Z | 41.024° NE | 2025-09-19 02:00:39.398Z | 106.685° ESE | 30.451° | 2025-09-19 02:05:39.398Z | 160.685° S |
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 ascending order |
|---|
CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
Authenticating...
Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order | Click to sort rows by TCA header in ascending order |
|---|