In orbitRocket body

LEASAT 3 PKM

NORAD: 16229
COSPAR: 1985-028E

OrbitalWiki publishes live orbits for active satellites only. This object is in the full catalogue: who launched it, what it is and its last published orbit are below, but there are no current orbital elements for it here.

Spacecraft

Built by: Thiokol Wasatch Div/Air Force Plant 78
Owner: Hughes Communications Inc.
Platform (bus): MM3-PKM
Mass at launch: 3,659 kg
Dry mass: 200 kg(estimate, good to about 20%)
Total mass with attached parts: 200 kg(estimate, good to about 20%)
Length: 2.5 m
Diameter: 1.4 m
Span with arrays and booms: 2.5 m
Shape: Cyl + Cone

From GCAT by Jonathan McDowell (CC BY 4.0), record S16229, checked 2026-11-05. About this source

Launch

Launch date: 1985-04-12
Rocket: Space Shuttle
Flight: PAM-D/Leasat Deploy
Mission name: OV-103 PAM deploy
Launch site: NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center, LC39A
Launched by: JSC/MSFC
Rocket performance: Success
Launch designator: 1985-028

From the GCAT launch log, launch 1985-028, checked 2026-11-05. About this source

Catalogue record

Object type: Rocket body
Owner code: US
Launch date: 1985-04-12
Period: 235.4 min
Inclination: 27.01°
Apogee: 12,204 km
Perigee: 297 km
Radar cross-section: 2.746 m²

From CelesTrak SATCAT, checked 2026-11-05. About this source

Where it came from

Parent object: LEASAT 3 (NORAD 15643)

The object this one was attached to at launch, or broke off from, as GCAT records it.

Everything from this launch

Payload3 in total, 2 still in orbit
Rocket body2 in total, 2 still in orbit