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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

Unknown

Radar Cross Section

Medium (>0.1 m² and <1 m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history
Last TLE update: 19 hours ago

TLE from 19 hours ago

0 SURCAL 159
1 02872U 67053F   26042.08822774  .00000085  00000-0  94875-4 0  9992
2 02872  69.9727 272.3575 0009561 275.9232  84.0785 13.99566562992568

Epoch: 2026-02-11T02:07Z

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-11T02:07:02.876Z)

Latitude

-0.00008°

Longitude

99.43613°

Altitude

896.9 km

Speed

7.404 km/s

True Right ascension

18h 09m 25s

True Declination

0° 00' 00"

Sunlit

Object was in daylight 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

23:13:23

Azimuth

Unknown

Elevation

Unknown

Doppler factor

Unknown

Orbital elements

Apogee altitude

900.291 km

Perigee altitude

886.387 km

Semi-major axis

7,271.476 km

Eccentricity

0.00096

Inclination

69.9727°

RAAN

272.3575°

Arg. of periapsis

275.9232°

True anomaly

84.18749°

Mean anomaly

84.0785°

Eccentric anomaly

84.13299°

Mean motion

3.50033 °/min

Orbital period

102.85 mins

BSTAR

0.000094875

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

GGSE 5, 2834

SURCAL 150B, 2909 (Decayed)

TIMATION 1, 2847

OPS 5712 (P/L 160), 2826

THOR AGENA D R/B, 2825

GGSE 4, 2828

P/L 153 DEB, 19245

OPS 5712 (P/L 152), 2873

OPS 5712 (P/L 153), 2874

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.
9 mins	2026-02-12 00:57:09.460Z	359.527° N	2026-02-12 01:02:09.460Z	56.983° ENE	21.912°	2026-02-12 01:06:09.460Z	102.206° ESE
10 mins	2026-02-12 02:43:09.460Z	323.41° NNW	2026-02-12 02:47:09.460Z	267.332° W	39.468°	2026-02-12 02:53:09.460Z	174.218° S
9 mins	2026-02-12 15:59:09.460Z	173.058° S	2026-02-12 16:03:09.460Z	97.196° ESE	36.866°	2026-02-12 16:08:09.460Z	36.37° NE
8 mins	2026-02-12 17:45:09.460Z	262.303° W	2026-02-12 17:48:09.460Z	302.157° NW	24.114°	2026-02-12 17:53:09.460Z	1.894° NNE

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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: 19 hours ago

TLE from 19 hours ago

TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2026-02-11T02:07:02.876Z)

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: 19 hours ago