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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

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: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1  2872U 67053F   26128.20777110  .00000080  00000-0  91373-4 0  9999
2  2872  69.9731  86.9162 0006889 190.9054 169.1905 13.99592900  4616

Epoch: 2026-05-08T04:59Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-05-08T04:59:11.423Z)

Latitude

-0.00001°

Longitude

146.07574°

Altitude

902.442 km

Speed

7.399 km/s

True Right ascension

05h 47m 39s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight 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

19:44:45

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

898.257 km

Perigee altitude

888.238 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.385 km

Eccentricity

0.00069

Inclination

69.9731°

RAAN

86.9162°

Arg. of periapsis

190.9054°

True anomaly

169.20529°

Mean anomaly

169.1905°

Eccentric anomaly

169.1979°

Mean motion

3.5004 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.000091373

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

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

TIMATION 1, 2847

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

GGSE 5, 2834

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

GGSE 4, 2828

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

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.
10 mins	2026-05-08 22:14:58.041Z	184.925° SSW	2026-05-08 22:19:58.041Z	115.525° SE	39.956°	2026-05-08 22:24:58.041Z	34.951° NE
7 mins	2026-05-09 00:02:58.041Z	270.27° WNW	2026-05-09 00:05:58.041Z	310.044° NW	21.824°	2026-05-09 00:09:58.041Z	356.683° N
8 mins	2026-05-09 07:16:58.041Z	4.043° NNE	2026-05-09 07:20:58.041Z	66.166° ENE	28.264°	2026-05-09 07:24:58.041Z	115.392° SE
9 mins	2026-05-09 09:01:58.041Z	311.583° NW	2026-05-09 09:05:58.041Z	250.637° W	31.306°	2026-05-09 09:10:58.041Z	189.201° SSW

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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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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

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: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-05-08T04:59:11.423Z)

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: 7 hours ago