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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Edit Public Description
Identifier
Orbit
Country
USRelated business
Manufacturer
Hughes
Mission
Non-operational Civil Communications
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
Cyl, 0.4 m
Radar Cross Section
0.415 m²
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 6 days ago
TLE from 6 days ago
0 SYNCOM 1
1 00553U 63004A 25255.48841833 -.00000096 00000-0 00000-0 0 9990
2 00553 27.2891 278.4801 0794865 192.9621 164.8516 1.16484260 32821Epoch: 2025-09-12T11:43Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-09-12T11:43:19.343Z)
Latitude
0.00003°
Longitude
110.91605°
Altitude
34,713.684 km
Speed
2.992 km/s
True Right ascension
18h 33m 55s
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
18:49:13
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
34,811.084 km
Perigee altitude
28,745.261 km
Semi-major axis
38,156.309 km
Eccentricity
0.07949
Inclination
27.2891°
RAAN
278.4801°
Arg. of periapsis
192.9621°
True anomaly
167.02238°
Mean anomaly
164.8516°
Eccentric anomaly
165.95671°
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
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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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SYNCOM 1 is likely not visible in the next few days. |
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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