D
SpaceUnited States

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)

Military weather satellitesIn serviceFielded 1965Pending verification
SpaceUSA
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Fact cardConfidence · Source
System
TypeMilitary weather satellites
Date of introduction1965
ProliferationOrigin country only
First launch1962Med[1]
Program statusPlanned end of service 2026, possibly extended to 2028Med[1]
Dimensions and weight
Mass1,154 kg2,544 lb2,545 lbMed[1]
Power1,200–1,300 WMed[1]
Orbit
Orbit regimeLEO (sun-synchronous polar)Med[1]
Orbit altitude848 km527 miAbout 527 milesMed[1]
Design life5 yearsBlock 5D-3Med[1]
Catalogued on orbit5Payloads with current element sets in the public catalog, active or not. Block 5D-3 satellites (F15-F19) only.High[2]
Active (CelesTrak)3Count in the CelesTrak active satellites list, which estimates operational status.Med[2]
Perigee835–838 kmActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Apogee850 kmActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Orbital period101.8 minActive satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Inclination98.74–98.98 °Active satellites per CelesTrak, element epoch about 2026-11-08.High[2]
Catalogued satellites · 5[2]
NameNORADCOSPARPerigee kmApogee kmIncl. °Period minStatus
DMSP 5D-3 F15 (USA 147)259911999-067A82784098.98101.6Inactive
DMSP 5D-3 F16 (USA 172)280542003-048A83885098.98101.8Active
DMSP 5D-3 F17 (USA 191)295222006-050A83585098.74101.8Active
DMSP 5D-3 F18 (USA 210)359512009-057A83585098.92101.8Active
DMSP 5D-3 F19 (USA 249)396302014-015A83585098.79101.8Inactive

Mean elements at epoch 2026-11-08 or later. Perigee and apogee are computed from mean motion and eccentricity and are approximate. Status follows the CelesTrak active list.

Summary

Polar-orbiting military weather satellites operated since 1962; being replaced by WSF-M and EWS.

Draft entry. Values come from the cited public sources and are awaiting editor verification.
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Operators
United States
Sources
  1. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (weapons and platforms entry), Air & Space Forces Magazine
    Tier 3 · checked 2026-11-08
  2. NORAD GP element sets (current data), CelesTrak (data from the U.S. Space Force 18th/19th Space Defense Squadron catalog)
    Published/updated 2026-11-08 · Tier 1 · checked 2026-11-08
Change log
  • 2026-11-08 Entry created from cited open sources
  • 2026-11-08 Orbital elements from CelesTrak GP data (epoch about 2026-11-08): 5 catalogued, 3 active.