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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>

Iframe URL

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

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

2872, 1967-053F

Orbit

LEO

Last TLE update

9 hours ago

Origin

United States Navy (US)

Manufacturer

NRL

Mission

Operational Defense Calibration

Bus & Motor

NRL 14"?, Unknown motor

Mass

3 kg wet, 3 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1967-05-31 (58 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, 0.2 m

Radar Cross Section

0.126 m², Medium (>0.1 m² and < 1m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history

TLE from 9 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   25221.54902679  .00000075  00000-0  88393-4 0  9991
2 02872  69.9758 311.8369 0006188 185.7438 174.3599 13.99490064966605

Epoch: 2025-08-09T13:10Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-08-09T13:10:35.914Z)

Latitude

-0.00007°

Longitude

155.9041°

Altitude

902.356 km

Speed

7.399 km/s

True Right ascension

20h 47m 20s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

27.71098°

Longitude

-35.90664°

Altitude

894.667 km

Speed

7.409 km/s

Apparent Right ascension

05h 04m 47s

Apparent Declination

-6° 02' 47"

Sunlit

Object is in daylight

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

12:42:22

Azimuth

281.407° WNW

Elevation

-22.494°

Doppler factor

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

898.104 km

Perigee altitude

889.104 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.741 km

Eccentricity

0.00062

Inclination

69.9758°

RAAN

311.8369°

Arg. of periapsis

185.7438°

True anomaly

174.36686°

Mean anomaly

174.3599°

Eccentric anomaly

174.36338°

Mean motion

3.50014 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.000088393

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

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

GGSE 4, 2828

GGSE 5, 2834

TIMATION 1, 2847

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

SURCAL 150B, 2909

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

SURCAL 159 Visibility forecast

Observer location: undefined°, undefined°

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	2025-08-10 06:26:10.950Z	158.208° S	2025-08-10 06:31:10.950Z	99.706° ESE	24.295°	2025-08-10 06:35:10.950Z	52.032° ENE
9 mins	2025-08-10 08:12:10.950Z	236.625° WSW	2025-08-10 08:16:10.950Z	304.583° NW	35.14°	2025-08-10 08:21:10.950Z	10.959° NNE
6 mins	2025-08-10 15:28:10.950Z	20.031° NNE	2025-08-10 15:30:10.950Z	43.267° NE	16.885°	2025-08-10 15:34:10.950Z	87.673° E
10 mins	2025-08-10 17:12:10.950Z	332.105° NNW	2025-08-10 17:16:10.950Z	297.658° NW	43.862°	2025-08-10 17:22:10.950Z	162.149° S

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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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.