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DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) — Live Satellite Tracking (NORAD 28054)
Track DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) (NORAD catalog number 28054) live on the WatchSat interactive 3D globe above. Its position is propagated in real time from the latest CelesTrak two-line element set using the SGP4/SDP4 orbital model — the same math professional trackers run. It has been on orbit since 2003, launched on the 48th orbital launch of that year (COSPAR designation 2003-048A).
Moving at about 7.43 km/s, DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of roughly 847 × 855 km, completing one revolution every 101.8 minutes — about 14.1 trips around Earth per day. The orbit is essentially circular (eccentricity 0.0006). Its 99.0° retrograde, near-polar inclination is characteristic of a Sun-synchronous orbit — the type Earth-imaging and weather satellites use to revisit each spot at the same local solar time. Its orbital plane crosses the equator northbound at right ascension 274.7°. Earth's equatorial bulge precesses that plane eastward about 1.01° per day, matching the Sun's apparent motion — which is what holds its lighting constant.
Orbital elements
| Orbit regime | low Earth orbit (LEO) |
|---|---|
| Perigee × apogee altitude | ~847 km × 855 km |
| Inclination | 98.99° |
| Orbital period | 101.8 min (14.14 rev/day) |
| Eccentricity | 0.00059 |
| Element set epoch | 2026-09-07 |
| COSPAR designation | 2003-048A |
| NORAD catalog number | 28054 |
This page's orbital elements come from the CelesTrak catalog of 2026-09-08. The live 3D view above fetches its own current CelesTrak data when the page opens, through an edge cache that refreshes roughly every 30 minutes.
About the Other Active Satellites group
DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172)'s name places it among WatchSat's 36 weather and environmental-monitoring satellites — a family that includes the NOAA, GOES, METEOSAT, METOP, FENGYUN, HIMAWARI and DMSP fleets. Browse all other active satellites live in 3D.
Can you see DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) from the ground?
Sometimes. Like most low-Earth-orbit spacecraft, DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) is visible only around dawn and dusk, when your sky is dark but the satellite is still sunlit — and whether you can spot it depends on its size and reflectivity. See pass predictions for your location for when it is above your horizon and sunlit.
Related satellites
Nearest catalog neighbors of DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172) in the Other Active Satellites group — usually craft from the same or adjacent launches:
- CHUANGXIN 1 (CX-1) (NORAD 28058)
- YAMAL 202 (NORAD 28089)
- UFO 11 (USA 174) (NORAD 28117)
- GALAXY 13 (HORIZONS-1) (NORAD 27954)
- USA 176 (DSP 22) (NORAD 28158)
- LARETS (NORAD 27944)
Browse the Other Active Satellites directory or the full satellite directory · What is a TLE? · WatchSat live globe