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RELAY 1 (A-15), 503

Orbit data source: Space-Track

RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 is a payload satellite owned by GSFC (US) that was launched on Thu, 13 Dec 1962 UTC via a THOR DELTA B launch vehicle from the Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR). 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/503?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/503?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

503, 1962-068A

Orbit

Active

Country

Related business

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (US)

Manufacturer

RCA/East Windsor

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

RELAY, Unknown motor

Mass

78 kg wet, 78 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1962-12-13 (63 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR DELTA B

Launch site

Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)

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: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

0 RELAY 1 (A-15)
1 00503U 62068A   26079.72132529 -.00000032  00000-0  00000-0 0  9991
2 00503  47.4938 178.4168 2840188 111.2203  34.6058  7.78169066798595

Epoch: 2026-03-20T17:18Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-20T17:18:42.505Z)

Latitude

6.6652°

Longitude

-85.63259°

Altitude

2,270.729 km

Speed

7.426 km/s

True Right ascension

23h 29m 11s

True Declination

6° 37' 57"

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

14:18:59

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

7,434.995 km

Perigee altitude

1,324.198 km

Semi-major axis

10,757.734 km

Eccentricity

0.28402

Inclination

47.4938°

RAAN

178.4168°

Arg. of periapsis

111.2203°

True anomaly

59.69451°

Mean anomaly

34.6058°

Eccentric anomaly

46.38794°

Mean motion

1.94519 °/min

Orbital period

185.07 mins

BSTAR

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Other satellites on launch #68 in the year 1962 (1962-12-13 UTC)

DELTA 1 R/B, 515

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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.

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RELAY 1 (A-15) 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.
21 mins	2026-03-21 11:05:48.876Z	255.602° W	2026-03-21 11:19:48.876Z	343.621° N	42.824°	2026-03-21 11:26:48.876Z	61.651° ENE
14 mins	2026-03-21 14:28:48.876Z	298.922° NW	2026-03-21 14:35:48.876Z	33.519° NE	42.113°	2026-03-21 14:42:48.876Z	101.468° ESE
13 mins	2026-03-21 17:44:48.876Z	271.155° WNW	2026-03-21 17:49:48.876Z	219.457° SW	25.633°	2026-03-21 17:57:48.876Z	169.354° S
15 mins	2026-03-22 05:19:48.876Z	148.342° SSE	2026-03-22 05:27:48.876Z	129.386° SE	13.322°	2026-03-22 05:34:48.876Z	106.689° ESE
29 mins	2026-03-22 08:26:48.876Z	214.917° SW	2026-03-22 08:46:48.876Z	139.203° SSE	41.141°	2026-03-22 08:55:48.876Z	65.904° 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 RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on other resources

View RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on Heavens-Above

View RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on Keep Track

View RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on Celestrak

View RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on Gunter's Space Page

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

RELAY 1 (A-15), 503

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 16 hours ago

TLE from 16 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-20T17:18:42.505Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #68 in the year 1962 (1962-12-13 UTC)

RELAY 1 (A-15) Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out RELAY 1 (A-15), 503 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 16 hours ago