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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Edit Public Description
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: 8 hours ago
TLE from 8 hours ago
0 SURCAL 159
1 2872U 67053F 26038.08595148 .00000128 00000-0 12460-3 0 9996
2 2872 69.9733 280.9753 0009550 279.4758 80.5270 13.99565475992009Epoch: 2026-02-07T02:03Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-07T02:03:46.207Z)
Latitude
-0.00002°
Longitude
112.81823°
Altitude
896.478 km
Speed
7.405 km/s
True Right ascension
18h 43m 54s
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
12:20:56
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
900.287 km
Perigee altitude
886.398 km
Semi-major axis
7,271.48 km
Eccentricity
0.00096
Inclination
69.9733°
RAAN
280.9753°
Arg. of periapsis
279.4758°
True anomaly
80.63496°
Mean anomaly
80.527°
Eccentric anomaly
80.58098°
Mean motion
3.50033 °/min
Orbital period
102.85 mins
BSTAR
0.0001246
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 mins | 2026-02-07 15:56:12.900Z | 115.316° SE | 2026-02-07 15:58:12.900Z | 94.163° ESE | 12.611° | 2026-02-07 16:00:12.900Z | 73.884° E |
| 10 mins | 2026-02-07 17:38:12.900Z | 206.502° SW | 2026-02-07 17:42:12.900Z | 254.733° W | 44.752° | 2026-02-07 17:48:12.900Z | 23.363° NE |
| 4 mins | 2026-02-07 19:27:12.900Z | 297.846° NW | 2026-02-07 19:28:12.900Z | 309.012° NW | 14.396° | 2026-02-07 19:31:12.900Z | 341.642° N |
| 9 mins | 2026-02-08 02:39:12.900Z | 350.813° N | 2026-02-08 02:43:12.900Z | 67.73° E | 39.272° | 2026-02-08 02:48:12.900Z | 137.441° SSE |
| 7 mins | 2026-02-08 04:25:12.900Z | 292.808° NW | 2026-02-08 04:28:12.900Z | 254.669° W | 20.143° | 2026-02-08 04:32:12.900Z | 211.411° SW |
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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