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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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<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2872?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" title="Kayhan Space Satcat Satellite Viewer"></iframe>

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https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2872?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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Identifier

2872, 1967-053F

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

United States Navy (US)

Manufacturer

NRL

Mission

Operational spacecraft

Bus & Motor

NRL 14"?, Unknown motor

Mass

3 kg wet, 3 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1967-05-31 (59 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR SLV-2 AGENA D

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 5 hours ago

TLE from 5 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1  2872U 67053F   25343.19420772  .00000163  00000-0  14831-3 0  9999
2  2872  69.9754  49.9322 0007322 337.3943  22.6840 13.99541543983620

Epoch: 2025-12-09T04:39Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-09T04:39:39.547Z)

Latitude

-0.00007°

Longitude

-98.16499°

Altitude

892.784 km

Speed

7.409 km/s

True Right ascension

03h 19m 43s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

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

07:38:30

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

898.75 km

Perigee altitude

888.101 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.562 km

Eccentricity

0.00073

Inclination

69.9754°

RAAN

49.9322°

Arg. of periapsis

337.3943°

True anomaly

22.71638°

Mean anomaly

22.684°

Eccentric anomaly

22.70019°

Mean motion

3.50027 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.00014831

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Other satellites on launch #53 in the year 1967 (1967-05-31 UTC)

GGSE 5, 2834

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

TIMATION 1, 2847

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

GGSE 4, 2828

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

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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.
4 mins	2025-12-09 13:47:28.141Z	23.053° NE	2025-12-09 13:49:28.141Z	43.661° NE	12.322°	2025-12-09 13:51:28.141Z	64.244° ENE
10 mins	2025-12-09 15:31:28.141Z	342.395° N	2025-12-09 15:35:28.141Z	31.864° NE	42.596°	2025-12-09 15:41:28.141Z	147.325° SSE
5 mins	2025-12-09 17:18:28.141Z	284.991° WNW	2025-12-09 17:20:28.141Z	262.29° W	15.802°	2025-12-09 17:23:28.141Z	229.281° WSW
7 mins	2025-12-10 04:48:28.141Z	140.608° SSE	2025-12-10 04:51:28.141Z	102.889° ESE	21.074°	2025-12-10 04:55:28.141Z	56.133° ENE
9 mins	2025-12-10 06:32:28.141Z	229.299° WSW	2025-12-10 06:36:28.141Z	299.304° NW	38.233°	2025-12-10 06:41:28.141Z	13.044° NNE

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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 SURCAL 159, 2872 on other resources

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Heavens-Above

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Keep Track

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Celestrak

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Gunter's Space Page

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

SURCAL 159, 2872

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 5 hours ago

TLE from 5 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-09T04:39:39.547Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #53 in the year 1967 (1967-05-31 UTC)

SURCAL 159 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out SURCAL 159, 2872 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 5 hours ago