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NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909

Orbit data source: Space-Track

NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 is a payload satellite owned by USN NAVAIR (US) in LEO that was launched on Tue, 30 Oct 1973 UTC via an SCOUT A-1 launch vehicle from the Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR). 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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https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/6909?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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Identifier

6909, 1973-081A

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

United States Navy (US)

Manufacturer

RCA/East Windsor

Mission

Spacecraft

Bus & Motor

TRANSIT 5, Unknown motor

Mass

~64 kg wet, ~64 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1973-10-30 (53 years ago)

Launch vehicle

SCOUT A-1

Launch site

Air Force Western Test Range (AFWTR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Unknown

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

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

TLE from 2 days ago

0 NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20)
1  6909U 73081A   26171.45069287  .00000180  00000-0  17444-3 0  9993
2  6909  89.8631 252.2117 0152948 228.7113 130.0798 13.71510564829611

Epoch: 2026-06-20T10:48Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-20T10:48:59.863Z)

Latitude

-0.00009°

Longitude

-178.70287°

Altitude

1,070.747 km

Speed

7.28 km/s

True Right ascension

16h 48m 50s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in full shadow 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

23:08:03

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

1,103.882 km

Perigee altitude

878.458 km

Semi-major axis

7,369.307 km

Eccentricity

0.01529

Inclination

89.8631°

RAAN

252.2117°

Arg. of periapsis

228.7113°

True anomaly

131.40441°

Mean anomaly

130.0798°

Eccentric anomaly

130.74374°

Mean motion

3.43086 °/min

Orbital period

104.93 mins

BSTAR

0.00017444

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Other satellites on launch #81 in the year 1973 (1973-10-30 UTC)

SCOUT A-1 DEB, 18496

SCOUT A-1 R/B, 6910

TRANSIT 20 DEB, 44565

SCOUT A-1 DEB, 15764

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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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NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20) 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.
4 mins	2026-06-22 15:59:46.787Z	54.953° ENE	2026-06-22 16:01:46.787Z	74.666° E	12.428°	2026-06-22 16:03:46.787Z	94.676° ESE
10 mins	2026-06-22 17:42:46.787Z	0.952° NNE	2026-06-22 17:47:46.787Z	210.594° SW	44.733°	2026-06-22 17:52:46.787Z	185.575° SSW
12 mins	2026-06-23 05:27:46.787Z	168.107° S	2026-06-23 05:32:46.787Z	120.768° SE	43.748°	2026-06-23 05:39:46.787Z	1.501° NNE
7 mins	2026-06-23 07:15:46.787Z	253.476° W	2026-06-23 07:18:46.787Z	283.434° WNW	16.943°	2026-06-23 07:22:46.787Z	320.828° NNW

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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 NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on other resources

View NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on Heavens-Above

View NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on Keep Track

View NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on Celestrak

View NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on Gunter's Space Page

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

NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909

Orbit data source: Space-Track

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

TLE from 2 days ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-06-20T10:48:59.863Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #81 in the year 1973 (1973-10-30 UTC)

NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20) Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out NNSS 20 (TRANSIT 20), 6909 on other resources

Documentation

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