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Home Academy Reading the Globe Clicking an object: the data panel explained
LESSON 03 OF 6

Clicking an object: the data panel explained

Beginner ~8 min Slide deck Free

Click any object on the globe and the data panel slides open with everything Orbital Radar knows: orbital parameters, live telemetry, launch history, and pass predictions. Understanding these fields turns raw numbers into mission insight.

Click any object on the globe and the data panel slides open with everything Orbital Radar knows: orbital parameters, live telemetry, launch history, and pass predictions. Understanding these fields turns raw numbers into mission insight.

What this lesson covers

Identity Block: Who Is This?

The top section identifies the object — its name, catalogue numbers, and basic classification.

Live Orbital Data

These values update in real time as the SGP4 propagator computes the object's current position. Altitude and speed are interlinked — lower orbits move faster. The sub-satellite point is the spot on Earth directly below the object right now.

Orbital Elements: The Shape of the Orbit

Below the live data, you'll find the Keplerian elements — the six numbers that fully describe an orbit's shape and orientation.

TLE Freshness and Epoch

The data panel shows when the orbital data was last updated — this directly affects accuracy.

Key facts

💡NORAD ID never changes. COSPAR ID tells you the exact launch it came from.
💡If apogee ≈ perigee, the orbit is nearly circular. Big difference = highly elliptical.
The data panel turns a dot into a story — identity, orbit shape, live position, and data freshness.

Now that you can read what's there, the next step is finding exactly the objects you care about — using filters.

All lessons in Reading the Globe
01What you're looking at (the Orbital Radar globe)~7 min02Object types and color coding~7 min03Clicking an object: the data panel explained~8 min04Filters: finding what you want~7 min05Time controls and prediction~8 min06Pass predictions: how to use them~8 min
← Object types and color codingAll 6 LessonsFilters: finding what you want →
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