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Integration Guide

SpaceTrack

Track satellites using TLE data and SGP4 propagation

The SpaceTrack integration tracks satellites by propagating Two-Line Element sets (TLEs) using the SGP4 algorithm. It computes real-time positions and velocities for one or many satellites, and optionally generates ground track orbit lines.

Setup

  1. Open the command menu with Ctrl+K (or ⌘+K) and select Configuration
  2. Find SpaceTrack under Feeds in the sidebar
  3. Select Orbits and click Create
  4. Paste a TLE or a URL to a TLE file into the TLE field and click Apply Configuration

The satellite will appear on the map immediately and update its position in real time.

Settings

SettingDefaultDescription
TLErequiredInline TLE data (3-line format) or URL to a TLE file
IDEntity ID prefix (single satellite only)
LabelDisplay label
SymbolSNPPS-----*****MIL-STD-2525C symbol code
Interval1.0Position update interval in seconds
Orbit Interval60.0Orbit ground track update interval in seconds
TLE Refresh Seconds3600Re-fetch interval when TLE is a URL
UsernameHTTP basic auth username for TLE source
PasswordHTTP basic auth password for TLE source
Disable Orbit TrackfalseSkip orbit ground track generation

Data Flow

The integration fetches TLE data once (or periodically from a URL), then computes satellite positions locally using SGP4 propagation. No ongoing network connection is required after the initial TLE fetch.

Entity Mapping

  • Single satellite ID: spacetrack.{id}
  • Bulk TLE file IDs: spacetrack.{base_id}.{sanitized_name} (names lowercased, spaces to hyphens)
  • Orbit entity ID: {satellite_id}.orbit
Computed FieldHydris Component
Position (lat, lon, altitude)geo
ENU velocitykinematics (with covariance)
Position uncertaintygeo.covariance (~1 km baseline + 1.5 km/day TLE age)
TLE namelabel
Ground trackgeo_shape (line geometry on orbit entity)

TLE Sources

The tle parameter accepts either inline TLE text or a URL:

Inline (single satellite):

ISS (ZARYA)
1 25544U 98067A   24001.50000000  .00016717  00000-0  10270-3 0  9993
2 25544  51.6400 200.0000 0007417  50.0000 310.0000 15.49560000000001

URL (bulk file):

https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/gp.php?GROUP=active&FORMAT=tle

When using a URL, TLEs are re-fetched at the configured tle_refresh_seconds interval. HTTP basic auth is supported for authenticated sources like space-track.org.

Orbit Ground Tracks

Unless disabled, the integration propagates one full orbital period at 1-minute steps and pushes the result as a line geometry entity. This renders as the satellite's ground track on the map.

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