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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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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

SPHERE, 1.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   26296.79821617  .00000056  00000-0  75198-4 0  9991
2 02872  69.9729  83.8771 0009251 298.3766  61.6408 13.99627980 28206

Epoch: 2026-10-23T19:09Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-10-23T19:09:25.877Z)

Latitude

-0.00002°

Longitude

124.30568°

Altitude

894.206 km

Speed

7.407 km/s

True Right ascension

05h 35m 30s

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

08:43:19

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

899.853 km

Perigee altitude

886.399 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.263 km

Eccentricity

0.00093

Inclination

69.9729°

RAAN

83.8771°

Arg. of periapsis

298.3766°

True anomaly

61.73414°

Mean anomaly

61.6408°

Eccentric anomaly

61.68746°

Mean motion

3.50049 °/min

Orbital period

102.84 mins

BSTAR

0.000075198

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

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

GGSE 4, 2828

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

TIMATION 1, 2847

GGSE 5, 2834

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (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.
9 mins	2026-10-25 19:43:59.528Z	358.206° N	2026-10-25 19:47:59.528Z	47.007° ENE	31.146°	2026-10-25 19:52:59.528Z	113.503° SE
9 mins	2026-10-25 21:29:59.528Z	313.037° NW	2026-10-25 21:33:59.528Z	249.955° W	40.523°	2026-10-25 21:38:59.528Z	187.047° SSW
10 mins	2026-10-26 10:44:59.528Z	189.847° SSW	2026-10-26 10:48:59.528Z	116.82° SE	69.081°	2026-10-26 10:54:59.528Z	29.337° NE
7 mins	2026-10-26 12:31:59.528Z	274.141° WNW	2026-10-26 12:34:59.528Z	310.245° NW	20.306°	2026-10-26 12:38:59.528Z	354.642° N

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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: 2 days ago

TLE from 2 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-10-23T19:09:25.877Z)

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: 2 days ago