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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.

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<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>

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

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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

SPHERE, 1.1 m

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 15 hours ago

TLE from 15 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   26312.23486633  .00000077  00000-0  89465-4 0  9999
2 02872  69.9755  50.6354 0009736 283.6334  76.3689 13.99631205 30369

Epoch: 2026-11-08T05:38Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-08T05:38:12.450Z)

Latitude

-0.00004°

Longitude

-81.34518°

Altitude

895.725 km

Speed

7.405 km/s

True Right ascension

03h 22m 32s

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

16:25:29

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

900.194 km

Perigee altitude

886.035 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.252 km

Eccentricity

0.00097

Inclination

69.9755°

RAAN

50.6354°

Arg. of periapsis

283.6334°

True anomaly

76.47735°

Mean anomaly

76.3689°

Eccentric anomaly

76.42312°

Mean motion

3.50049 °/min

Orbital period

102.84 mins

BSTAR

0.000089465

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

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

GGSE 5, 2834

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

TIMATION 1, 2847

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

GGSE 4, 2828

P/L 153 DEB, 39247 (Decayed)

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SURCAL 159 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.
11 mins	2026-11-09 07:27:51.606Z	178.736° S	2026-11-09 07:33:51.606Z	94.408° ESE	45.2°	2026-11-09 07:38:51.606Z	37.126° NE
8 mins	2026-11-09 09:15:51.606Z	261.983° W	2026-11-09 09:18:51.606Z	304.346° NW	28.25°	2026-11-09 09:23:51.606Z	3.428° NNE
8 mins	2026-11-09 16:29:51.606Z	4.376° NNE	2026-11-09 16:33:51.606Z	57.289° ENE	27.728°	2026-11-09 16:37:51.606Z	106.516° ESE
10 mins	2026-11-09 18:14:51.606Z	319.105° NNW	2026-11-09 18:18:51.606Z	263.217° W	46.611°	2026-11-09 18:24:51.606Z	180.248° SSW

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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 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: 15 hours ago

TLE from 15 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-11-08T05:38:12.450Z)

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: 15 hours ago