A two-line element set (TLE) has the following structure. "[.]" indicates the location of an implied decimal point. Unused columns are blank. Leading zeros may or may not be present.
Example:
1 25063U 97074A 01065.47684936 .00084763 00000-0 56564-3 0 9843 2 25063 34.9848 213.3710 0001408 234.2325 124.0029 15.74091534188368
| Columns | Content | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | |||
| 1 | Sequence number ("1") | d | 1 |
| 3-7 | Satellite number | ddddd | 25063 |
| 8 | "U" | c | U |
| 10-17 | International designator | yynnnppp | 97074A |
| 19-20 | Epoch year | dd | 01 |
| 21-23 | Epoch day | ddd | 065 |
| 24-32 | Epoch time as a fraction of a day | .dddddddd | .47684936 |
| 34-43 | 1st time deriv. of mean motion or bal. coeff. | s.dddddddd | .00084763 |
| 45-52 | 2nd time deriv. of mean motion or blank | s[.]dddddsd | 00000-0 |
| 54-62 | BSTAR drag term or rad. pressure coeff. | s[.]dddddsd | 56564-3 |
| 63 | Ephemeris type | d | 0 |
| 65-68 | Element type | dddd | 984 |
| 69 | Mod-10 checksum | d | 3 |
| Line 2 | |||
| 1 | Seqence number ("2") | d | 2 |
| 3-7 | Satellite number | ddddd | 25063 |
| 9-16 | Inclination in degrees | ddd.dddd | 34.9848 |
| 18-25 | R.A. of ascending node in degrees | ddd.dddd | 213.3710 |
| 27-33 | Eccentricity | [.]ddddddd | 0001408 |
| 35-42 | Argument of perigee in degrees | ddd.dddd | 234.2325 |
| 44-51 | Mean anomaly in degrees | ddd.dddd | 124.0029 |
| 53-63 | Mean motion in revs per day | dd.dddddddd | 15.74091534 |
| 64-68 | Revolution number at epoch | ddddd | 18836 |
| 69 | Mod-10 checksum | d | 8 |
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