Showing default

SURCAL 159, 2872

Orbit data source: Space-Track

SURCAL 159, 2872 is a payload satellite owned by NRL (US) in LEO that was launched on Wed, 31 May 1967 UTC via a THOR SLV-2 AGENA D 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.

Loading next visibility...

Iframe embed code

<iframe src="https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2872?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false" width="600" height="400" frameborder="0" title="Kayhan Space Satcat Satellite Viewer"></iframe>

Iframe URL

https://www.satcat.com/sats-embedded/2872?theme=dark&initialShowStats=false

Optional Secondary NORAD IDs

Max 10 NORAD IDs; Separated by commas

Initial load time (optional)

ISO8601 Format

TLE date request (optional)

ISO8601 Format

Identifier

2872, 1967-053F

Orbit

LEO

Country

Related business

United States Navy (US)

Manufacturer

NRL

Mission

Operational spacecraft

Bus & Motor

NRL 14"?, Unknown motor

Mass

3 kg wet, 3 kg dry

Launch date (UTC)

1967-05-31 (59 years ago)

Launch vehicle

THOR SLV-2 AGENA D

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: 13 hours ago

TLE from 13 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   25347.26801979  .00000152  00000-0  14081-3 0  9998
2 02872  69.9753  41.1609 0007598 332.7667  27.3040 13.99543463984198

Epoch: 2025-12-13T06:25Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-13T06:25:56.909Z)

Latitude

-0.00013°

Longitude

-137.524°

Altitude

892.78 km

Speed

7.409 km/s

True Right ascension

02h 44m 38s

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

18:14:52

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

898.944 km

Perigee altitude

887.894 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.556 km

Eccentricity

0.00076

Inclination

69.9753°

RAAN

41.1609°

Arg. of periapsis

332.7667°

True anomaly

27.34397°

Mean anomaly

27.304°

Eccentric anomaly

27.32398°

Mean motion

3.50027 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.00014081

Loading maneuver chart data...

Computing Atmospheric mass density...

Loading historical data...

Other satellites on launch #53 in the year 1967 (1967-05-31 UTC)

GGSE 5, 2834

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

GGSE 4, 2828

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

TIMATION 1, 2847

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

Did you know?

You can import UDL-sourced sensor .json files into the Sandbox to generate a visibility chart that accounts for multi-vendor sensor geometry.

Click here to try in Sandbox

SURCAL 159 Visibility forecast

Loading observer location...
Set Observer location

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.
11 mins	2025-12-14 04:50:22.117Z	189.502° SSW	2025-12-14 04:55:22.117Z	130.616° SE	41.503°	2025-12-14 05:01:22.117Z	31.1° NE
7 mins	2025-12-14 06:38:22.117Z	270.042° WNW	2025-12-14 06:41:22.117Z	306.349° NW	20.062°	2025-12-14 06:45:22.117Z	353.473° N
9 mins	2025-12-14 13:52:22.117Z	359.833° N	2025-12-14 13:56:22.117Z	60.951° ENE	30.773°	2025-12-14 14:01:22.117Z	122.525° SE
9 mins	2025-12-14 15:37:22.117Z	310.945° NW	2025-12-14 15:41:22.117Z	256.966° W	29.062°	2025-12-14 15:46:22.117Z	194.085° SSW

Items per page:

1–4 of 4 items

of 1 page

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Thresholds — Semi-major Axis: ±100 km, RAAN: ±3°, Inclination: ±5°
TCA is derived from TLE conjunctions

Please sign-in to view Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs.

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

CAUTION: Conjunctions in this section are generated from low-fidelity TLE screenings

Authenticating...

Click to sort rows by Secondary header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Secondary name header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Country header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Owner header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Obj. Type header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Miss dist. header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Rel. speed header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by Apr. angle header in ascending order	Click to sort rows by TCA header in descending order

Check out SURCAL 159, 2872 on other resources

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on NASA - NSSDCA Website

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Heavens-Above

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Keep Track

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Celestrak

View SURCAL 159, 2872 on Gunter's Space Page

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

SURCAL 159, 2872

Orbit data source: Space-Track

Expand to show TLE details & historyLast TLE update: 13 hours ago

TLE from 13 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-12-13T06:25:56.909Z)

Visualization orbit readout

Visualization observer readout

Orbital elements

Other satellites on launch #53 in the year 1967 (1967-05-31 UTC)

SURCAL 159 Visibility forecast

Co-orbital & Co-planar RSOs

Check out SURCAL 159, 2872 on other resources

Documentation

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 13 hours ago