Science
POPACS 3
Atmospheric Drag Research Satellite · NASA / Utah State University
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PopAcs-3, the third of three identical drag-research spheres launched together, each with a different mass, to isolate precisely how atmospheric density and solar activity affect a satellite's rate of orbital decay — directly improving predictions of when any satellite, anywhere, will eventually re-enter.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 198–678 mi (319–1,092 km)
- Inclination
- 81.0°
- One orbit
- 98.7 minutes14.6 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 39270
- Int’l designator
- 2013-055F
- Launched
- 2013
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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