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USA 159, 26880

Orbit data source: Space-Track

USA 159, 26880 is a payload satellite owned by USAF SMC (US) in GEO that was launched on Mon, 06 Aug 2001 UTC via a TITAN 402B/IUS launch vehicle from the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR). 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 URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/26880?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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Identifier

26880, 2001-033A

Orbit

GEO

Country

Related business

United States Space Force (US)

Manufacturer

TRW

Mission

Operational Defense Classified

Bus & Motor

DSP B18, MRE-4

Mass

~2,360 kg wet, ~2,200 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

2001-08-06 (25 years ago)

Launch vehicle

TITAN 402B/IUS

Launch site

Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Cyl + 1 Pan, 5.8 m

Radar Cross Section

31.528 m², Large (>1 m²)

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Last TLE update: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

0 USA 159
1 26880U 01033A   26097.54550561 -.00000143  00000-0  00000-0 0  9995
2 26880  12.7156  16.9100 0000281  45.8468 151.1450  0.99203208 32253

Epoch: 2026-04-07T13:05Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-04-07T13:05:31.684Z)

Latitude

-3.69994°

Longitude

-178.67932°

Altitude

36,090.003 km

Speed

3.064 km/s

True Right ascension

14h 14m 05s

True Declination

-3° 41' 46"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight 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

11:17:45

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

36,091.023 km

Perigee altitude

36,088.636 km

Semi-major axis

42,467.966 km

Eccentricity

0.00003

Inclination

12.7156°

RAAN

16.91°

Arg. of periapsis

45.8468°

True anomaly

151.14655°

Mean anomaly

151.145°

Eccentric anomaly

151.14578°

Mean motion

0.248 °/min

Orbital period

1,451.62 mins

BSTAR

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Computing Atmospheric mass density...

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Other satellites on launch #33 in the year 2001 (2001-08-06 UTC)

TITAN 4B R/B, 26881 (Decayed)

IUS R/B(1), 26882

USA 159 DEB, 26887

IUS R/B(2), 26883

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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.

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USA 159 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.
112 mins	2026-04-08 05:26:18.086Z	270.93° WNW	2026-04-08 06:26:18.086Z	270.907° WNW	10.24°	2026-04-08 07:18:18.086Z	270.323° WNW

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26880 neighbors

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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 USA 159, 26880 on other resources

View USA 159, 26880 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View USA 159, 26880 on Heavens-Above

View USA 159, 26880 on Keep Track

View USA 159, 26880 on Celestrak

View USA 159, 26880 on Gunter's Space Page

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

USA 159, 26880

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-04-07T13:05:31.684Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #33 in the year 2001 (2001-08-06 UTC)

USA 159 Visibility forecast

26880 neighbors

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out USA 159, 26880 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 16 hours ago