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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   26083.63280450 -.00000095  00000-0  00000-0 0  9998
2 00553  26.8822 274.4881 0800438 198.8670 157.9284  1.16484139 35077

Epoch: 2026-03-24T15:11Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-03-24T15:11:14.308Z)

Latitude

0.00001°

Longitude

-135.45257°

Altitude

34,630.906 km

Speed

2.999 km/s

True Right ascension

18h 17m 51s

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

19:53:22

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

34,832.388 km

Perigee altitude

28,724.03 km

Semi-major axis

38,156.346 km

Eccentricity

0.08004

Inclination

26.8822°

RAAN

274.4881°

Arg. of periapsis

198.867°

True anomaly

161.08015°

Mean anomaly

157.9284°

Eccentric anomaly

159.5321°

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.
1440 mins	2026-04-05 13:58:18.429Z	231.169° WSW	2026-04-06 13:58:18.429Z	182.855° SSW	39.899°	2026-04-06 13:58:18.429Z	182.855° SSW

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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 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: 2026-03-24T15:11:14.308Z)

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