EXPLORER 16, 506
Orbit data source: Space-Track
EXPLORER 16, 506 is a payload satellite owned by NASA LaRC (US) in LEO that was launched on Sun, 16 Dec 1962 UTC via an SCOUT X-3 launch vehicle from the Wallops Island (WLPIS). 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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506 intel report (Beta)
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Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
NASA LaRC
Mission
Spacecraft
Bus & Motor
S-55, Unknown motor
Mass
100 kg wet, 76 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: 5 hours ago
TLE from 5 hours ago
0 EXPLORER 16
1 506U 62070A 25297.81888525 .00000181 00000-0 21274-3 0 9995
2 506 52.0012 238.1637 0276653 38.5867 323.4478 13.85725282176120Epoch: 2025-10-24T19:39Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-10-24T19:39:11.685Z)
Latitude
-0.00001°
Longitude
-90.09332°
Altitude
783.713 km
Speed
7.544 km/s
True Right ascension
15h 52m 39s
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
19:49:17
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
1,146.638 km
Perigee altitude
741.496 km
Semi-major axis
7,322.204 km
Eccentricity
0.02767
Inclination
52.0012°
RAAN
238.1637°
Arg. of periapsis
38.5867°
True anomaly
321.50625°
Mean anomaly
323.4478°
Eccentric anomaly
322.48246°
Mean motion
3.46402 °/min
Orbital period
103.93 mins
BSTAR
0.00021274
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Other satellites on launch #70 in the year 1962 (1962-12-16 UTC)
No other RSOs were in this launch
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.EXPLORER 16 Visibility forecast
Loading 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mins | 2025-10-25 01:07:06.928Z | 287.725° WNW | 2025-10-25 01:11:06.928Z | 346.274° N | 25.713° | 2025-10-25 01:15:06.928Z | 39.622° NE |
| 7 mins | 2025-10-25 02:58:06.928Z | 327.083° NNW | 2025-10-25 03:01:06.928Z | 10.618° NNE | 22.385° | 2025-10-25 03:05:06.928Z | 57.986° ENE |
| 10 mins | 2025-10-25 04:46:06.928Z | 318.674° NNW | 2025-10-25 04:50:06.928Z | 15.054° NNE | 36.468° | 2025-10-25 04:56:06.928Z | 102.104° ESE |
| 10 mins | 2025-10-25 06:35:06.928Z | 291.28° WNW | 2025-10-25 06:39:06.928Z | 228.075° WSW | 36.478° | 2025-10-25 06:45:06.928Z | 155.126° SSE |
| 7 mins | 2025-10-25 21:46:06.928Z | 180.95° SSW | 2025-10-25 21:49:06.928Z | 134.499° SE | 26.135° | 2025-10-25 21:53:06.928Z | 74.752° E |
| 8 mins | 2025-10-25 23:34:06.928Z | 255.885° W | 2025-10-25 23:37:06.928Z | 310.055° NW | 39.124° | 2025-10-25 23:42:06.928Z | 45.233° ENE |
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 ascending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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