Science
DMSP 5D-3 F17 (USA 191)
Military Weather · US Air Force
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DMSP F17 monitors Earth's polar regions with microwave imagers that see through clouds to measure sea ice extent and thickness — critical for Arctic shipping routes and climate research. Its sun-synchronous orbit crosses every latitude at the same local time each day, making decades of data directly comparable for tracking long-term polar change.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 521–531 mi (839–854 km)
- Inclination
- 98.7°
- One orbit
- 101.7 minutes14.2 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 29522
- Int’l designator
- 2006-050A
- Launched
- 2006
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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