Satelllite Data from Celestrak
The satellite data included in OpenSpace comes from service Celestrak, and in particular their current data page: https://celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/. On this page you will find overall categories in BOLD and their sub cateories listed below them. Listed below are the OpenSpace assets files that correspond. Should you wish to include an entire category, there are asset files includes named satellites_communications, satellites_debris, etc. The OpenSpace category of Misc corresponds to the first Celestrak category ‘Special-Interest Satellites’.
Satellites in the ‘default’ Profile
Satellites in the default scene can be activated with the ‘s’ hotkey, or the ‘Toggle Satellites’ shorcut. They can also be found in the Scene menu under Solar System->Planets->Earth->Satellites. Below are a listing of the ones included in the default scene.
| Menu name | Celestrak category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| geo | Active Geosynchronous | Satellites that currently active and in a Geosynchronous orbit, meaning their orbital period matches Earth’s rotation. |
| gps-ops | GPS Operational | The GPS satellites that give us our precise locations back here on Earth. |
| ISS | N/A | In this sub category you will find the model and the trail for the ISS. The trail for the ISS is the same data that can be found in the stations category. |
| stations | Space Stations | A collection of space stations (Including the ISS and China’s Tiangong), along with certian cubesats and satellite constellations from space agencies. |
| tle-new | Last 30 Days’ Launches | All the satellites that have been launched in the last 30 days. |
| visual | 100 (or so) Brightest | The 100 (or so) satellites that will appear brighest when viewed from Earth. |
All Satellite Categories and Assets Included in OpenSpace
As mentioned above, satellites are grouped by categories and sub-categories that are created by CelesTrak.com. Below is a current listing of the ones included in OpenSpace:
Communications
amateur experimental geostationary globalstar gorizont intelsat iridium iridium_next molniya orbcomm other_comm raduga ses
Debris
debris_asat debris_breezem debris_fengyun debris_iridium33 debris_kosmos2251
Misc
brightest cubesats iss military other radar spacestations tle-new
Navigation
beidou galileo glosnass gps musson nnss sbas
Science
education engineering geodetic spaceearth
Weather
argos dmc earth_resources goes noaa planet sarsat spire tdrss weather
Additional Features
See the Components/Satellites page for more detailed information and advanced usage of satellites in OpenSpace.