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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

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 02872U 67053F   26083.96896957  .00000091  00000-0  99033-4 0  9996
2 02872  69.9749 182.1762 0009090 237.2325 122.7907 13.99580390998421

Epoch: 2026-03-24T23:15Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-24T23:15:18.970Z)

Latitude

-0.00005°

Longitude

10.90814°

Altitude

901.148 km

Speed

7.4 km/s

True Right ascension

12h 08m 42s

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

11:46:06

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

899.901 km

Perigee altitude

886.681 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.428 km

Eccentricity

0.00091

Inclination

69.9749°

RAAN

182.1762°

Arg. of periapsis

237.2325°

True anomaly

122.87821°

Mean anomaly

122.7907°

Eccentric anomaly

122.83446°

Mean motion

3.50037 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.000099033

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

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

TIMATION 1, 2847

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

GGSE 5, 2834

GGSE 4, 2828

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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	2026-03-25 07:56:37.650Z	200.417° SSW	2026-03-25 08:01:37.650Z	182.428° SSW	44.146°	2026-03-25 08:07:37.650Z	25.807° NE
6 mins	2026-03-25 09:45:37.650Z	282.995° WNW	2026-03-25 09:48:37.650Z	317.303° NNW	16.153°	2026-03-25 09:51:37.650Z	349.089° N
9 mins	2026-03-25 16:58:37.650Z	352.68° N	2026-03-25 17:02:37.650Z	56.979° ENE	36.546°	2026-03-25 17:07:37.650Z	131.419° SE
7 mins	2026-03-25 18:44:37.650Z	298.141° NW	2026-03-25 18:47:37.650Z	258.937° W	22.829°	2026-03-25 18:51:37.650Z	209.817° SW
5 mins	2026-03-26 06:16:37.650Z	120.563° SE	2026-03-26 06:18:37.650Z	98.629° ESE	14.393°	2026-03-26 06:21:37.650Z	67.46° ENE

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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: 7 hours ago

TLE from 7 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-24T23:15:18.970Z)

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