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
CYL, 1.1 m
Radar Cross Section
Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)
Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 1 week ago
TLE from 1 week ago
0 SYNCOM 1
1 00553U 63004A 26299.09575400 -.00000070 00000-0 00000-0 0 9992
2 00553 26.4381 269.9917 0808690 205.7305 149.9691 1.16483853 37586Epoch: 2026-10-26T02:17Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-10-26T02:17:53.145Z)
Latitude
-0.00002°
Longitude
-159.02688°
Altitude
34,493.14 km
Speed
3.01 km/s
True Right ascension
17h 59m 41s
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
03:09:17
Azimuth
Unknown
Elevation
Unknown
Doppler factor
Unknown
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
34,863.954 km
Perigee altitude
28,692.611 km
Semi-major axis
38,156.419 km
Eccentricity
0.08087
Inclination
26.4381°
RAAN
269.9917°
Arg. of periapsis
205.7305°
True anomaly
154.22873°
Mean anomaly
149.9691°
Eccentric anomaly
152.13475°
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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 mins | 2026-11-03 20:52:29.361Z | 73.439° E | 2026-11-03 20:56:29.361Z | 73.214° E | 10.006° | 2026-11-03 21:00:29.361Z | 72.992° 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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