Showing default

ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615

Orbit data source: Space-Track

ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 is a payload satellite owned by ESSA (US) in SSO that was launched on Sun, 15 Dec 1968 UTC via a THOR DELTA N 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.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/3615?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/3615?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

Optional Secondary NORAD IDs

Max 10 NORAD IDs; Separated by commas

Initial load time (optional)

ISO8601 Format

TLE date request (optional)

ISO8601 Format

Identifier

3615, 1968-114A

Orbit

SSO

Country

Related business

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)

Manufacturer

RCA/East Windsor

Mission

Non-operational spacecraft

Bus & Motor

TIROS I, Unknown motor

Mass

131 kg wet, 131 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1968-12-15 (57 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR DELTA N

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: 18 hours ago

TLE from 18 hours ago

0 ESSA 8 (TOS-F)
1 03615U 68114A   25348.86204779 -.00000039  00000-0  37914-4 0  9991
2 03615 101.6765 295.0817 0031861 321.2935  38.5857 12.56246568613415

Epoch: 2025-12-14T20:41Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-14T20:41:20.929Z)

Latitude

0.00004°

Longitude

-99.02439°

Altitude

1,421.62 km

Speed

7.159 km/s

True Right ascension

19h 40m 19s

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

13:22:56

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

1,460.906 km

Perigee altitude

1,411.113 km

Semi-major axis

7,814.147 km

Eccentricity

0.00319

Inclination

101.6765°

RAAN

295.0817°

Arg. of periapsis

321.2935°

True anomaly

38.81412°

Mean anomaly

38.5857°

Eccentric anomaly

38.69984°

Mean motion

3.14211 °/min

Orbital period

114.57 mins

BSTAR

0.000037914

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

Other satellites on launch #114 in the year 1968 (1968-12-15 UTC)

Did you know?

You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.

Click here to try in Sandbox

ESSA 8 (TOS-F) Visibility forecast

Loading observer location...
Set Observer location

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.
6 mins	2025-12-15 17:57:22.221Z	67.613° E	2025-12-15 18:00:22.221Z	45.555° ENE	12.552°	2025-12-15 18:03:22.221Z	23.449° NE
14 mins	2025-12-15 19:44:22.221Z	139.497° SSE	2025-12-15 19:51:22.221Z	60.995° ENE	40.301°	2025-12-15 19:58:22.221Z	351.749° N
12 mins	2025-12-15 21:38:22.221Z	210.737° SW	2025-12-15 21:44:22.221Z	267.354° W	26.881°	2025-12-15 21:50:22.221Z	319.341° NNW
8 mins	2025-12-16 07:47:22.221Z	61.449° ENE	2025-12-16 07:51:22.221Z	93.422° ESE	16.525°	2025-12-16 07:55:22.221Z	124.299° SE
15 mins	2025-12-16 09:37:22.221Z	17.57° NNE	2025-12-16 09:44:22.221Z	34.334° NE	44.952°	2025-12-16 09:52:22.221Z	199.155° SSW
10 mins	2025-12-16 11:31:22.221Z	346.04° N	2025-12-16 11:36:22.221Z	304.303° NW	20.269°	2025-12-16 11:41:22.221Z	265.194° W

Items per page:

1–6 of 6 items

of 1 page

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

Please sign-in to view Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs.

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

Authenticating...

Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by TCA header in descending order

Check out ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on other resources

View ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on Heavens-Above

View ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on Keep Track

View ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on Celestrak

View ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on Gunter's Space Page

Satcat and Kayhan Space are not affiliated with NASA, Celestrak, Heavens-Above, Keep Track, or Gunter's Space Page.

ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 18 hours ago

TLE from 18 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-14T20:41:20.929Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #114 in the year 1968 (1968-12-15 UTC)

ESSA 8 (TOS-F) Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out ESSA 8 (TOS-F), 3615 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 18 hours ago