NORAD 20
VANGUARD 3
In orbit
Tap to zoom and pan
Computing position…
Blue circle: where it is above the horizon now
Time
- Local time
- -
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Position
- Latitude
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- Longitude
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- Altitude
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Speed
- Miles per hour
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- Kilometers per second
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- Miles per second
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From your location
- Azimuth
- -
- Elevation
- -
- Right ascension
- -
- Declination
- -
- Local sidereal time
- -
Sunlight
- Day / night
- -
Identity
- NORAD ID
- 20
- International designator
- 1959-007A
- Launch date
- Sep 18, 1959
- Launch site
- AIR FORCE EASTERN TEST RANGE
- Radar size (RCS)
- Medium (0.1–1 m²)
Radio
- Uplink
- -
- Downlink
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- Beacon
- -
- Mode
- -
Active transmitters from SatNOGS DB, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Your station
- Grid locator
- -
Live
- Azimuth
- -
- Elevation
- -
- Range
- -
- Range rate
- -
- Naked-eye visibility
- -
- Sub-satellite grid
- -
- Footprint diameter
- -
Upcoming passes
Next 48 h · your local timeUse your location to predict passes.
Mutual visibility
With another station · next 48 hUse your location to find mutual windows.
Transmitters
Nominal · add location for Doppler-
Recent receptions
SatNOGS NetworkLoading…
Orbit data
- TLE epoch
- 2026-10-18 20:31:14 UTC
- TLE age
- -
Radio data from SatNOGS DB and SatNOGS Network, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About VANGUARD 3
VANGUARD 3 is a satellite from the United States, launched on Sep 18, 1959 from Air Force Eastern Test Range.
It circles Earth every 124 minutes (11.6 times a day), between 509 and 3,202 km up, on an orbit tilted 33.3° to the equator, so its path covers latitudes up to 33° north and south.
The map shows where it is right now; the pass list tells you when it next comes over your location.
Vanguard 3 · American research satellite
- Operated by
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Built by
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- Mass
- 24 kg
Wikipedia article ↗ · Names and facts: Wikidata (CC0).