In orbitDebris

SATCOM 3 DEB

NORAD: 38688
COSPAR: 1979-101X

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

Owner: RCA Astro Electronics (Astro Space)

From GCAT by Jonathan McDowell (CC BY 4.0), record S38688, checked 2026-11-05. About this source

Launch

Launch date: 1979-12-07
Rocket: Delta 3914
Flight: Satcom 3
Mission name: RCA-C
Launch site: CC, LC17A
Launched by: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Rocket performance: Success
Launch designator: 1979-101

From the GCAT launch log, launch 1979-101, checked 2026-11-05. About this source

Catalogue record

Object type: Debris
Owner code: US
Launch date: 1979-12-07
Period: 798.0 min
Inclination: 8.38°
Apogee: 36,210 km
Perigee: 8,030 km
Radar cross-section: 0.003 m²

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

Where it came from

Parent object: SATCOM 3 (NORAD 11635)

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

Everything from this launch

Debris26 in total, 26 still in orbit
Payload1 in total, 1 still in orbit
Rocket body2 in total, 1 still in orbit