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VELA 1, 692

Orbit data source: Space-Track

VELA 1, 692 is a payload satellite owned by USAF SSD (US) in HEO that was launched on Thu, 17 Oct 1963 UTC via an ATLAS AGENA D 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 URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/692?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

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ISO8601 Format

Identifier

692, 1963-039C

Orbit

HEO

Last TLE update

1 month ago

Origin

United States Space Force (US)

Manufacturer

TRW

Mission

Defense Early Warn

Bus & Motor

VELA, BE3A

Mass

~207 kg wet, 115 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1963-10-17 (62 years ago)

Launch vehicle

ATLAS AGENA D

Launch site

Air Force Eastern Test Range (AFETR)

Object type

Payload

Rocket body

Debris

Shape & HBR

Poly, 0.7 m

Radar Cross Section

2.240 m², Large (>1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history

TLE from 1 month ago

0 VELA 1
1 00692U 63039C   25167.99736767 -.00001215  00000-0  00000-0 0  9993
2 00692  26.4185  44.9241 5614969 214.1037 359.8474  0.22047425 12365

Epoch: 2025-06-16T23:56Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-06-16T23:56:12.566Z)

Latitude

-13.33829°

Longitude

-11.11891°

Altitude

43,451.387 km

Speed

3.543 km/s

True Right ascension

16h 53m 44s

True Declination

-13° 19' 38"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight at epoch

Visualization orbit readout

Latitude

-6.36222°

Longitude

128.21865°

Altitude

118,438.08 km

Speed

1.716 km/s

Apparent Right ascension

02h 07m 00s

Apparent Declination

-8° 30' 26"

Sunlit

Object is in daylight

Visualization observer readout

Local Sidereal Time

03:53:59

Azimuth

213.199° SW

Elevation

35.624°

Doppler factor

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

174,355.82 km

Perigee altitude

44,375.983 km

Semi-major axis

115,744.038 km

Eccentricity

0.5615

Inclination

26.4185°

RAAN

44.9241°

Arg. of periapsis

214.1037°

True anomaly

359.34331°

Mean anomaly

359.8474°

Eccentric anomaly

359.652°

Mean motion

0.05512 °/min

Orbital period

6,531.41 mins

BSTAR

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Other satellites on launch #39 in the year 1963 (1963-10-17 UTC)

VELA 2, 674

ERS 12, 675 (Decayed)

VELA 1 Visibility forecast

Observer location: undefined°, undefined°

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.
204 mins	2025-07-19 15:03:49.044Z	213.196° SW	2025-07-19 15:03:49.044Z	213.196° SW	30.217°	2025-07-19 18:27:49.044Z	254.697° W
315 mins	2025-07-20 09:48:49.044Z	90.431° ESE	2025-07-20 15:03:49.044Z	166.157° S	40.533°	2025-07-20 15:03:49.044Z	166.157° S

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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Authenticating...

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Check out VELA 1, 692 on other resources

View VELA 1, 692 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View VELA 1, 692 on Heavens-Above

View VELA 1, 692 on Keep Track

View VELA 1, 692 on Celestrak

View VELA 1, 692 on Gunter's Space Page

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