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NORAD 41879

WGS 8 (USA 272)

📡 Radar viewIn 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

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Longitude
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Altitude
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Speed

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Kilometers per second
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Miles per second
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From your location

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Elevation
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Right ascension
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Local sidereal time
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Sunlight

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Its orbit in 3D

Goes round Earth once every 23.9 hours, on an orbit tilted 0.0° from the equator, between 35,768 and 35,795 km up. Earth is drawn to scale.

Drag to turn · pinch to zoom · it moves live

About WGS 8 (USA 272)

WGS 8 (USA 272) is a satellite from the United States, launched on Dec 7, 2016 from Air Force Eastern Test Range.

It sits in geostationary orbit about 35,800 km above the equator near 150°E, turning with Earth so it stays over the same spot.

The map shows where it is right now; the pass list tells you when it next comes over your location.

USA-272 · United States Space Force military communications satellite constellation

Wikipedia article ↗ · Names and facts: Wikidata (CC0).

Orbit height over the past year

Over the last 22 days its lowest point went from 35,786 km to 35,782 km. Sudden rises are engine burns that lift the orbit; slow declines are drag from the thin upper atmosphere.

Lowest point (perigee)Highest point (apogee)
35,78235,78435,78635,78835,79035,792

From Space-Track element sets, one point a day.