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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553 intel report (Beta)
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Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
Hughes
Mission
Non-operational spacecraft
Bus & Motor
HS-301, TE-M-375
Mass
68 kg wet, ~27 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: 3 days ago
TLE from 3 days ago
0 SYNCOM 1
1 00553U 63004A 26181.49286719 -.00000048 00000-0 00000-0 0 9993
2 00553 26.6768 272.4554 0807139 201.9957 154.4405 1.16483661 36211Epoch: 2026-06-30T11:49Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-30T11:49:43.725Z)
Latitude
0.00001°
Longitude
176.50336°
Altitude
34,607.811 km
Speed
3.001 km/s
True Right ascension
18h 09m 59s
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
11:44:40
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
34,858.075 km
Perigee altitude
28,698.562 km
Semi-major axis
38,156.455 km
Eccentricity
0.08071
Inclination
26.6768°
RAAN
272.4554°
Arg. of periapsis
201.9957°
True anomaly
158.09469°
Mean anomaly
154.4405°
Eccentric anomaly
156.29938°
Mean motion
0.2912 °/min
Orbital period
1,236.26 mins
BSTAR
0
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Other satellites on launch #4 in the year 1963 (1963-02-14 UTC)
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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.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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 416 mins | 2026-07-03 02:33:59.988Z | 97.887° ESE | 2026-07-03 06:06:59.988Z | 82.116° E | 20.512° | 2026-07-03 09:29:59.988Z | 77.994° E |
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 descending order |
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CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings
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