USA 259

Track USA 259 now!
USA 259 is classified as:

Military

NORAD ID: 40344

Int'l Code: 2014-081A

Perigee: 2,136.5 km

Apogee: 38,233.1 km

Inclination: 62.9 °

Period: 717.8 minutes

Semi major axis: 26555 km

RCS: Unknown

Launch date: December 13, 2014
Source: United States (US)
Launch site: AIR FORCE WESTERN TEST RANGE (AFWTR)

NROL-35 is a top-secret satellite-delivery flight for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO is the secretive government agency that controls the country's spy satellites. The identity and purpose of the payload launched Friday were not released to the public. But speculation centered on a new generation of electronic signals intelligence-gathering satellite, commonly referred to as Trumpet, and that flies in a Molniya-style orbit of 700 by 23,300 miles (1,127 by 37,498 km).

1 40344U 14081A   24306.82440980 0.00000000  00000-0  00000-0 0    02
2 40344  62.8912 143.5071 6796376 270.5604  18.2784  2.00615048    00

Source of the keplerian elements: McCants