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ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435

Orbit data source: Space-Track

ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 is a payload satellite owned by ESSA (US) in SSO that was launched on Sun, 02 Oct 1966 UTC via a THOR DELTA E 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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<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2435?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" title="Kayhan Space Satcat Satellite Viewer"></iframe>

Iframe URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2435?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

2435, 1966-087A

Orbit

SSO

Country

Related business

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)

Manufacturer

RCA/East Windsor

Mission

Non-operational Civil Weather

Bus & Motor

TIROS I, Unknown motor

Mass

148 kg wet, 148 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1966-10-02 (59 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR DELTA E

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Cyl, 0.6 m

Radar Cross Section

0.994 m², Medium (>0.1 m² and < 1m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 6 hours ago

TLE from 6 hours ago

0 ESSA 3 (TOS-A)
1 02435U 66087A   25262.22692935 -.00000039  00000-0  14570-4 0  9990
2 02435 101.0817 176.1815 0063560 218.6489 297.8755 12.56875493704960

Epoch: 2025-09-19T05:26Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-09-19T05:26:46.695Z)

Latitude

23.66668°

Longitude

-78.99027°

Altitude

1,415.485 km

Speed

7.165 km/s

True Right ascension

00h 04m 19s

True Declination

23° 33' 04"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

Unknown

Longitude

Unknown

Altitude

Unknown

Speed

Unknown

Apparent Right ascension

Unknown

Apparent Declination

Unknown

Sunlit

N/A

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

04:18:28

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

1,483.017 km

Perigee altitude

1,383.717 km

Semi-major axis

7,811.504 km

Eccentricity

0.00636

Inclination

101.0817°

RAAN

176.1815°

Arg. of periapsis

218.6489°

True anomaly

297.22928°

Mean anomaly

297.8755°

Eccentric anomaly

297.55263°

Mean motion

3.1437 °/min

Orbital period

114.51 mins

BSTAR

0.00001457

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Other satellites on launch #87 in the year 1966 (1966-10-02 UTC)

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ESSA 3 (TOS-A) 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	2025-09-19 16:15:27.872Z	94.7° ESE	2025-09-19 16:20:27.872Z	56.771° ENE	19.73°	2025-09-19 16:26:27.872Z	9.997° NNE
15 mins	2025-09-19 18:05:27.872Z	160.17° S	2025-09-19 18:12:27.872Z	17.173° NNE	44.967°	2025-09-19 18:20:27.872Z	344.019° N
9 mins	2025-09-19 20:01:27.872Z	235.5° WSW	2025-09-19 20:05:27.872Z	266.612° W	17.453°	2025-09-19 20:10:27.872Z	305.612° NW
12 mins	2025-09-20 06:06:27.872Z	40.887° NE	2025-09-20 06:12:27.872Z	95.331° ESE	27.198°	2025-09-20 06:18:27.872Z	150.574° SSE
14 mins	2025-09-20 07:58:27.872Z	6.562° NNE	2025-09-20 08:05:27.872Z	291.392° WNW	39.885°	2025-09-20 08:12:27.872Z	220.023° SW
4 mins	2025-09-20 09:54:27.872Z	327.017° NNW	2025-09-20 09:56:27.872Z	312.034° NW	11.949°	2025-09-20 09:58:27.872Z	297.291° NW

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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Check out ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on other resources

View ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on Heavens-Above

View ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on Keep Track

View ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on Celestrak

View ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on Gunter's Space Page

Satcat and Kayhan Space are not affiliated with NASA, Celestrak, Heavens-Above, Keep Track, or Gunter's Space Page.

ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 6 hours ago

TLE from 6 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-09-19T05:26:46.695Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #87 in the year 1966 (1966-10-02 UTC)

ESSA 3 (TOS-A) Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out ESSA 3 (TOS-A), 2435 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 6 hours ago