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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

SPHERE, 1.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 19 hours ago

TLE from 19 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   26307.73251329  .00000043  00000-0  66438-4 0  9998
2 02872  69.9748  60.3304 0009623 287.8861  72.1197 13.99629981 29735

Epoch: 2026-11-03T17:34Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-03T17:34:49.148Z)

Latitude

0.00002°

Longitude

113.63467°

Altitude

895.248 km

Speed

7.406 km/s

True Right ascension

04h 01m 19s

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

08:01:09

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

900.116 km

Perigee altitude

886.122 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.256 km

Eccentricity

0.00096

Inclination

69.9748°

RAAN

60.3304°

Arg. of periapsis

287.8861°

True anomaly

72.22468°

Mean anomaly

72.1197°

Eccentric anomaly

72.17219°

Mean motion

3.50049 °/min

Orbital period

102.84 mins

BSTAR

0.000066438

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

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

GGSE 4, 2828

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

TIMATION 1, 2847

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

GGSE 5, 2834

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

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.
11 mins	2026-11-04 18:08:37.696Z	346.129° N	2026-11-04 18:13:37.696Z	48.886° ENE	51.091°	2026-11-04 18:19:37.696Z	136.676° SSE
7 mins	2026-11-04 19:55:37.696Z	298.627° NW	2026-11-04 19:58:37.696Z	262.085° W	23.14°	2026-11-04 20:02:37.696Z	213.553° SW
5 mins	2026-11-05 07:27:37.696Z	123.002° SE	2026-11-05 07:29:37.696Z	100.233° ESE	16.336°	2026-11-05 07:32:37.696Z	67.583° E
10 mins	2026-11-05 09:09:37.696Z	213.831° SW	2026-11-05 09:14:37.696Z	315.939° NNW	69.394°	2026-11-05 09:19:37.696Z	19.282° 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: 19 hours ago

TLE from 19 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-03T17:34:49.148Z)

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: 19 hours ago