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: 13 hours ago

TLE from 13 hours ago

0 ESSA 8 (TOS-F)
1 03615U 68114A   26086.83200298 -.00000034  00000-0  66746-4 0  9990
2 03615 101.6930  36.9554 0032180 120.1511 240.2758 12.56248461626342

Epoch: 2026-03-27T19:58Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-27T19:58:05.057Z)

Latitude

-0.00001°

Longitude

-87.82662°

Altitude

1,453.586 km

Speed

7.13 km/s

True Right ascension

02h 27m 49s

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

14:33:24

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

1,461.149 km

Perigee altitude

1,410.857 km

Semi-major axis

7,814.14 km

Eccentricity

0.00322

Inclination

101.693°

RAAN

36.9554°

Arg. of periapsis

120.1511°

True anomaly

239.9562°

Mean anomaly

240.2758°

Eccentric anomaly

240.11594°

Mean motion

3.14211 °/min

Orbital period

114.57 mins

BSTAR

0.000066746

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.
15 mins	2026-03-28 09:56:40.458Z	13.166° NNE	2026-03-28 10:04:40.458Z	285.792° WNW	43.655°	2026-03-28 10:11:40.458Z	209.977° SW
7 mins	2026-03-28 11:52:40.458Z	335.961° NNW	2026-03-28 11:55:40.458Z	311.724° NW	15.591°	2026-03-28 11:59:40.458Z	280.427° WNW
12 mins	2026-03-28 19:03:40.458Z	110.947° ESE	2026-03-28 19:09:40.458Z	52.577° ENE	28.2°	2026-03-28 19:15:40.458Z	1.807° NNE
14 mins	2026-03-28 20:54:40.458Z	181.669° SSW	2026-03-28 21:01:40.458Z	266.707° W	40.194°	2026-03-28 21:08:40.458Z	333.627° NNW
13 mins	2026-03-29 08:55:40.458Z	33.292° NE	2026-03-29 09:01:40.458Z	99.462° ESE	37.053°	2026-03-29 09:08:40.458Z	172.427° S

Items per page:

1–5 of 5 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: 13 hours ago

TLE from 13 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-27T19:58:05.057Z)

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: 13 hours ago