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.
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Request partner network tasking
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Embed this page
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
26880 intel report (Beta)
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Create New Watchlist
Focus sentinelFocus sentinel
Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
TRW
Mission
Operational Defense Classified
Bus & Motor
DSP B18, MRE-4
Mass
~2,360 kg wet, ~2,200 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Cyl + 1 Pan, 5.8 m
Radar Cross Section
31.528 m², Large (>1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 1 day ago
TLE from 1 day ago
0 USA 159
1 26880U 01033A 26034.83447170 -.00000305 00000-0 00000-0 0 9999
2 26880 12.6582 17.3619 0000702 197.7315 169.7784 1.00278522 31631Epoch: 2026-02-03T20:01Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-03T20:01:38.354Z)
Latitude
1.63326°
Longitude
-49.7079°
Altitude
35,786.95 km
Speed
3.075 km/s
True Right ascension
01h 38m 50s
True Declination
1° 37' 54"
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
01:40:26
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
35,788.662 km
Perigee altitude
35,782.742 km
Semi-major axis
42,163.839 km
Eccentricity
0.00007
Inclination
12.6582°
RAAN
17.3619°
Arg. of periapsis
197.7315°
True anomaly
169.77983°
Mean anomaly
169.7784°
Eccentric anomaly
169.77911°
Mean motion
0.25069 °/min
Orbital period
1,436.05 mins
BSTAR
0
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 #33 in the year 2001 (2001-08-06 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.USA 159 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 678 mins | 2026-02-04 23:40:20.132Z | 104.657° ESE | 2026-02-05 00:59:20.132Z | 103.178° ESE | 24.108° | 2026-02-05 10:58:20.132Z | 121.672° SE |
| 434 mins | 2026-02-05 16:26:20.132Z | 119.691° SE | 2026-02-05 23:40:20.132Z | 104.539° ESE | 23.716° | 2026-02-05 23:40:20.132Z | 104.539° ESE |
Loading historical data...
26880 neighbors
Authenticating...
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 |
|---|
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 descending order |
|---|