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SYNCOM 1, 553

Orbit data source: Space-Track

SYNCOM 1, 553 is a payload satellite owned by GSFC (US) that was launched on Thu, 14 Feb 1963 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/553?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/553?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

553, 1963-004A

Orbit

Active

Country

Related business

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (US)

Manufacturer

Hughes

Mission

Non-operational spacecraft

Bus & Motor

HS-301, TE-M-375

Mass

68 kg wet, ~27 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1963-02-14 (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

RCS unknown

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 weeks ago

TLE from 2 weeks ago

0 SYNCOM 1
1 00553U 63004A   26113.67748779 -.00000091  00000-0  00000-0 0  9995
2 00553  26.8202 273.8671 0802792 199.7778 156.8679  1.16483621 35423

Epoch: 2026-04-23T16:15Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-04-23T16:15:34.945Z)

Latitude

-0.00002°

Longitude

178.20293°

Altitude

34,620.627 km

Speed

3 km/s

True Right ascension

18h 15m 16s

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

13:44:07

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

34,841.494 km

Perigee altitude

28,715.153 km

Semi-major axis

38,156.46 km

Eccentricity

0.08028

Inclination

26.8202°

RAAN

273.8671°

Arg. of periapsis

199.7778°

True anomaly

160.17384°

Mean anomaly

156.8679°

Eccentric anomaly

158.54995°

Mean motion

0.2912 °/min

Orbital period

1,236.26 mins

BSTAR

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Other satellites on launch #4 in the year 1963 (1963-02-14 UTC)

DELTA 1 R/B, 532 (Decayed)

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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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SYNCOM 1 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.
1046 mins	2026-05-07 05:44:14.777Z	176.804° S	2026-05-07 15:21:14.777Z	158.534° S	43.753°	2026-05-07 23:10:14.777Z	144.637° SSE
25 mins	2026-05-08 05:19:14.777Z	118.856° SE	2026-05-08 05:44:14.777Z	117.167° SE	12.457°	2026-05-08 05:44:14.777Z	117.167° SE

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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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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

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Check out SYNCOM 1, 553 on other resources

View SYNCOM 1, 553 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View SYNCOM 1, 553 on Heavens-Above

View SYNCOM 1, 553 on Keep Track

View SYNCOM 1, 553 on Celestrak

View SYNCOM 1, 553 on Gunter's Space Page

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

SYNCOM 1, 553

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 2 weeks ago

TLE from 2 weeks ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-04-23T16:15:34.945Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #4 in the year 1963 (1963-02-14 UTC)

SYNCOM 1 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out SYNCOM 1, 553 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 2 weeks ago