🧭 Geospatial
Cesium
An open platform for high-precision 3D geospatial visualisation of Earth, space, and time-dynamic data.
Visit cesium.com →
3D geospatial platform
Data Sources & Licences
The sources behind Orbital Radar, with the credit and licence terms their publishers ask for. Everything on the site is computed from public, openly licensed data.
🛰️ Orbital Data
Space-Track.org
A public service providing orbital element data and catalogue information widely referenced across the space domain.
Visit space-track.org →
Orbital elements & catalog
📡 Supplemental GP
CelesTrak
Founded and maintained by Dr. T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak is a non-profit educational resource that has provided orbital element sets and reference material to the global space community, free of charge, for decades.
🌞 Space Weather
NOAA SWPC
NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center provides forecasts and real-time data on solar activity, geomagnetic storms, and ionospheric conditions that affect satellites and orbital dynamics.
Visit SWPC →
Solar & geomagnetic data
📍 Geocoding
GeoNames
Place names, coordinates and time zones behind location search, observing-site lookups and overhead-pass labels come from the free GeoNames geographical database, used under CC BY 4.0.
Visit GeoNames →
Places & time zones
🚀 Launch Data
GCAT (J. McDowell)
A respected independent reference maintained by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Launch histories, satellite lifecycle records and historical catalogue entries on this site include data from GCAT (J. McDowell, planet4589.org/space/gcat), used under CC BY 4.0 and adapted for presentation.
Visit GCAT →
Historical launch & orbit records
🚀 Launch Data
Launch Library 2
Upcoming launch schedule information includes data from Launch Library 2, the free launch API maintained by The Space Devs community.
Visit The Space Devs →
Upcoming launches
🚀 Launch Data
RocketLaunch.Live
Supplementary upcoming-launch listings include data provided by RocketLaunch.Live.
Visit RocketLaunch.Live →
Launch listings
🌦️ Weather
Open-Meteo
Local weather context for observing conditions and viewing forecasts comes from Open-Meteo, used under CC BY 4.0.
Visit Open-Meteo →
Weather forecasts
📍 Geocoding
OpenStreetMap
Location search additionally draws on map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License.
osm.org/copyright →
Map & place data
📡 Propagation
SGP4 / SDP4
The standard simplified perturbation models used globally for propagating TLE-based orbital elements. Originally developed by NORAD and maintained across the space domain.
SGP4 reference →
Orbit propagation model
Reference Organisations
Authoritative bodies whose published research, standards and coordination work underpin the wider space-tracking community.
🧱 Debris
NASA ODPO
NASA's centre of expertise for studying and characterising the orbital debris environment.
Visit NASA ODPO →
Debris environment research
🛰️ Safety
ESA Space Debris Office
The European Space Agency's programme focused on space debris monitoring, modelling, and mitigation.
Visit ESA Space Debris →
Debris mitigation & safety
🌐 Policy
UNOOSA
The United Nations body promoting international cooperation and the peaceful use of outer space.
Visit unoosa.org →
International coordination
🛡️ Defence
U.S. Space Command
The U.S. military command responsible for space operations, including maintaining the public catalog of tracked objects via Space-Track.org.
Visit spacecom.mil →
Space operations & tracking
Verification & Licensing
Public data is the input, not the product. Everything published on Orbital Radar first passes through the site's own proprietary verification and validation methods, and the figures and records you see are derived works produced by that process. To protect the integrity of those checks, the methodology itself is not published.
Citing an individual page for editorial or academic use is free with attribution to Orbital Radar. Commercial redistribution or bulk use requires a licence via Data Solutions.
To see how public data becomes live tracking, start with the SSA Guide, the Debris Tracking Guide, or learn interactively in the Orbital Academy.
Related library articles: What Is a TLE? · How Satellites Are Tracked · Space Debris Statistics · How Many Satellites Are in Orbit?
FAQ
Where does Orbital Radar get its data?
Orbital Radar uses publicly available orbital element data (primarily TLEs) from sources including Space-Track.org and CelesTrak. Space weather data comes from NOAA SWPC. All sources are listed on this page.
How often is the orbital data updated?
TLE data is refreshed regularly — typically multiple times per day. Positions on the live globe are propagated forward from the most recent TLE using standard SGP4/SDP4 models, so the visual motion is continuous even between updates.
How is the data verified?
Every dataset passes through Orbital Radar's own proprietary verification and validation methods before anything is published. To protect the integrity of those checks, the methodology is not published.
Is this data suitable for operational decisions?
No. Orbital Radar is designed for education, research, and situational awareness. Operational decisions such as collision avoidance manoeuvres require specialist conjunction assessment services. See the Legal page for full disclaimers.
Can I access raw TLE data through Orbital Radar?
Orbital Radar does not redistribute raw TLE files. For direct TLE access, visit Space-Track.org or CelesTrak.