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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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: 22 hours ago
TLE from 22 hours ago
0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F 26173.73262449 .00000051 00000-0 71839-4 0 9994
2 02872 69.9748 348.8865 0004569 118.5208 241.6360 13.99603939 10987Epoch: 2026-06-22T17:34Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-22T17:34:58.755Z)
Latitude
-0.00003°
Longitude
174.22736°
Altitude
899.062 km
Speed
7.402 km/s
True Right ascension
23h 15m 32s
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
02:24:05
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
896.532 km
Perigee altitude
889.887 km
Semi-major axis
7,271.346 km
Eccentricity
0.00046
Inclination
69.9748°
RAAN
348.8865°
Arg. of periapsis
118.5208°
True anomaly
241.58994°
Mean anomaly
241.636°
Eccentric anomaly
241.61297°
Mean motion
3.50043 °/min
Orbital period
102.84 mins
BSTAR
0.000071839
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 mins | 2026-06-23 21:34:20.855Z | 358.842° N | 2026-06-23 21:38:20.855Z | 45.91° ENE | 25.32° | 2026-06-23 21:43:20.855Z | 110.297° ESE |
| 9 mins | 2026-06-23 23:20:20.855Z | 316.084° NNW | 2026-06-23 23:24:20.855Z | 252.085° W | 35.031° | 2026-06-23 23:29:20.855Z | 184.002° SSW |
| 10 mins | 2026-06-24 12:35:20.855Z | 185.95° SSW | 2026-06-24 12:39:20.855Z | 126.037° SE | 41.227° | 2026-06-24 12:45:20.855Z | 31.431° NE |
| 7 mins | 2026-06-24 14:22:20.855Z | 270.228° WNW | 2026-06-24 14:25:20.855Z | 307.38° NW | 20.438° | 2026-06-24 14:29:20.855Z | 354.362° N |
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 descending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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