Space Brief 10 Dec 2025
Today's brief covers China's intense launch schedule, a new Arctic military constellation, Muon Space's defense innovations, and SpaceX's classified NROL-77 mission.
Launch Date
April 28, 1967
Launch Site
Launch Pad
LC41
Launch Vehicle
Titan IIIC
NORAD ID
02766
International Designator
1967-040B
Epoch
Thu, 28 May 2026 12:32:02 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
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Inclination
36.49°
Right Ascension
5.28°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
121.79°
Period
6762.19 min
Mean Motion
0.21 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
OPS 6679 (VELA 8)
Alternative Name
Vela IV-B
Type
Status
Owner
AFSSD
Country
United States
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 02766U 67040B 26148.52225106 -.00001179 00000-0 00000-0 0 9991
2 02766 36.4866 5.2796 4640335 121.7860 358.7111 0.21294873 5451
Source: Celestrak
Apologies, there is no summary for this satellite yet. I am working to generate these for every object in the catalog, but it is going to take time.
Length
1.3
Diameter
1.3
Span
1.3
Dry Mass
221
Launch Mass
221
Shape
Poly
Radar Cross Section
0.003
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
Vela 4B
Purpose
Nuclear Detection
Mission
Nuclear Detection
Manufacturer
TRW
Life Expectancy
18 month (design), all +10 years operational
Bus
Vela
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
BE-3
Equipment
2optical bhangmeters observing Earth, 12 external X-ray detectors and 18 internal neutron and gamma-ray detectors
Power System
Solar cells, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
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