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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: 9 hours ago

TLE from 9 hours ago

0 USA 159
1 26880U 01033A   26045.24705809 -.00000290  00000-0  00000-0 0  9995
2 26880  12.6715  17.2889 0001351 179.7931 346.9038  1.00279135 31735

Epoch: 2026-02-14T05:55Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-14T05:55:45.818Z)

Latitude

2.90571°

Longitude

-48.90211°

Altitude

35,778.207 km

Speed

3.075 km/s

True Right ascension

12h 17m 14s

True Declination

2° 54' 10"

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

17:52:43

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

35,791.226 km

Perigee altitude

35,779.833 km

Semi-major axis

42,163.667 km

Eccentricity

0.00014

Inclination

12.6715°

RAAN

17.2889°

Arg. of periapsis

179.7931°

True anomaly

346.90029°

Mean anomaly

346.9038°

Eccentric anomaly

346.90205°

Mean motion

0.25069 °/min

Orbital period

1,436.04 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)

USA 159 DEB, 26887

IUS R/B(1), 26882

IUS R/B(2), 26883

TITAN 4B R/B, 26881 (Decayed)

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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.
1095 mins	2026-02-14 15:54:35.001Z	119.335° SE	2026-02-15 00:18:35.001Z	102.943° ESE	23.939°	2026-02-15 10:09:35.001Z	121.258° SE

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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: 9 hours ago

TLE from 9 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-14T05:55:45.818Z)

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: 9 hours ago