SURCAL 159, 2872
Orbit data source: Space-Track
SURCAL 159, 2872 is a payload satellite owned by NRL (US) in LEO that was launched on Wed, 31 May 1967 UTC via a THOR SLV-2 AGENA D 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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2872 intel report (Beta)
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Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
NRL
Mission
Operational spacecraft
Bus & Motor
NRL 14"?, Unknown motor
Mass
3 kg wet, 3 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
Launch vehicle
Launch site
Object type
Shape & HBR
Unknown
Radar Cross Section
Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 9 hours ago
TLE from 9 hours ago
0 SURCAL 159
1 2872U 67053F 25293.02152323 .00000188 00000-0 16580-3 0 9999
2 2872 69.9730 157.9588 0004243 52.4804 307.6688 13.99517751976608Epoch: 2025-10-20T00:30Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-10-20T00:30:59.607Z)
Latitude
-0.00004°
Longitude
121.48061°
Altitude
895.894 km
Speed
7.405 km/s
True Right ascension
10h 31m 50s
True Declination
0° 00' 00"
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
04:53:26
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
896.593 km
Perigee altitude
890.423 km
Semi-major axis
7,271.645 km
Eccentricity
0.00042
Inclination
69.973°
RAAN
157.9588°
Arg. of periapsis
52.4804°
True anomaly
307.6303°
Mean anomaly
307.6688°
Eccentric anomaly
307.64955°
Mean motion
3.50021 °/min
Orbital period
102.85 mins
BSTAR
0.0001658
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Other satellites on launch #53 in the year 1967 (1967-05-31 UTC)
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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.SURCAL 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 mins | 2025-10-20 16:03:26.977Z | 182.243° SSW | 2025-10-20 16:08:26.977Z | 125.148° SE | 37.409° | 2025-10-20 16:14:26.977Z | 35.039° NE |
| 7 mins | 2025-10-20 17:51:26.977Z | 264.962° W | 2025-10-20 17:54:26.977Z | 305.212° NW | 23.306° | 2025-10-20 17:58:26.977Z | 355.702° N |
| 8 mins | 2025-10-21 01:05:26.977Z | 3.271° NNE | 2025-10-21 01:09:26.977Z | 59.495° ENE | 26.712° | 2025-10-21 01:13:26.977Z | 110.408° ESE |
| 9 mins | 2025-10-21 02:50:26.977Z | 315.914° NNW | 2025-10-21 02:54:26.977Z | 258.884° W | 33.557° | 2025-10-21 02:59:26.977Z | 187.335° SSW |
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 |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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