Satcom Status Tracker

{{ loading ? 'Fetching' : 'Ready' }} {{ satnogsEnabled ? 'TLE + SatNOGS' : 'TLE only' }} {{ selectedStatus }} {{ selectedOrbit }} {{ selectedAltitude }} {{ selectedInclination }} {{ selectedAge }} {{ selectedFreshness }} {{ selectedReadiness }} {{ freshnessModeLabel }} Auto {{ safeRefreshMinutes }} min {{ selectedOperator }} {{ selectedCountry }}

Satellite / NORAD search:

Examples: STARLINK-3000, OneWeb, Iridium, or NORAD 25544.

Constellation preset:

Choose a constellation/operator starter; Custom keeps your manual search text.

Result cap:

Enter 1-40 records; lower caps keep SatNOGS overlay runs faster.

records

SatNOGS overlay:

Turn on for operational context; leave off for fastest TLE-only screening.

Only active (SatNOGS):

Available with SatNOGS overlay; disable when reviewing historical or decayed objects.

TLE freshness:

Use 0 to rely on the policy only, or enter 1-3650 days for a stricter cap.

days

Freshness policy:

Strict <=2 days, balanced <=7 days, archive <=14 days.

Auto-refresh:

Enable only for watch sessions; interval accepts 15-720 minutes.

Sort by:

Choose epoch, altitude, inclination, period, or freshness for the returned set.

TLE page offset:

Enter page 1-200; each page returns up to the current result cap.

page

Keep decayed entries:

Requires SatNOGS overlay; use for archive cleanup or launch-campaign checks.

{{ (allow_decayed === 1 || allow_decayed === '1') ? 'On' : 'Off' }}

Show stale only:

Run a query first, then use this for refresh queues and stale-record exports.

Metric	Value	Copy
{{ row.label }}	{{ row.value }}

#	Name	NORAD	Status	Orbit	Altitude	Epoch age	Freshness	Readiness	Copy
{{ row.rank }}	{{ row.name }}	{{ row.id }}	{{ row.status }}	{{ row.orbit }}	{{ row.altitude }}	{{ row.age }}	{{ row.freshness }}	{{ row.readiness }}

{{ selectedTleText }}

No TLE text is available

Run a status query and select a match with line 1 and line 2 data.

Signal	Action	Reason
Planning level	{{ planningBrief.headline }}	Current planning posture before the action list.
Action {{ idx + 1 }}	{{ row.action }}	{{ row.reason }}
No planning brief is available Run a query to generate link-planning actions for the selected satellite.

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A catalog match is only the first step in a satcom check. A satellite may have a familiar name, a NORAD catalog number, and a recent-looking orbit record, while still being a poor record to trust for the next pointing or scheduling decision. Satellite communication planning depends on timing, geometry, and public status context, so stale or mismatched orbital data can lead to a missed pass, a wrong antenna direction, or a candidate that should have been screened out earlier.

The common public record for quick orbit work is a Two-Line Element set, usually shortened to TLE. A TLE is not live telemetry. It is a compact description of an Earth-orbiting object's mean orbital elements at a reference time called the epoch. From that record, software can estimate broad geometry such as inclination, period, and approximate altitude, but confidence falls as the real path drifts away from the epoch through drag, station keeping, maneuvers, and model limits.

TLE freshness says how old the orbit record is, not whether the spacecraft is working.
Orbit class is a geometry clue from the record, not a full propagation for a ground station.
Public status can describe an object as active, planned, non-operational, or re-entered when that context is available.
Planning readiness is a caution label, not a guarantee of visibility, signal quality, transmitter availability, or permission to use a frequency.

Flow from TLE epoch age and mean motion to orbit class and readiness bands

Low Earth orbit objects can become stale quickly because drag and frequent orbit maintenance change the real path. Geostationary spacecraft move more slowly across the sky, but they still need current station-keeping context, drift awareness, and a matching operational record before a user treats them as available. A stale TLE is not automatically false, and a fresh TLE is not automatically sufficient. The useful question is whether the record is current enough for the decision being made.

A satcom status review works best as a triage pass. It narrows a candidate set, highlights stale orbital elements, separates orbit-derived facts from public status context, and identifies targets that need a fresher element set or another operations source before detailed pass prediction and link analysis.

How to Use This Tool:

Start with the narrowest search that matches the job, then widen the query only when you need to compare candidates.

Enter a Satellite / NORAD search value. A NORAD catalog number such as 25544 targets one object first. A name, constellation, or operator keyword returns a list of matching TLE records.
Use Constellation preset when it matches a common family such as Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium, Globalstar, Inmarsat, Intelsat, SES, or Telesat. The preset fills the search text and starter age setting; Custom keeps the manual query.
Set Result cap between 1 and 40 records. Lower caps are better for exact status checks and faster overlay lookups; higher caps are useful when an operator keyword returns many similar satellites.
Choose Freshness policy and TLE freshness. Strict allows up to 2 days, Balanced up to 7 days, and Archive up to 14 days. The manual age value can tighten the selected policy but cannot make it looser.
Turn on SatNOGS overlay when operator, country, public status, update time, or frequency-violator context matters. Leave it off for a faster TLE-only check.
Use Only active, Keep decayed entries, Show stale only, Sort by, and TLE page offset after the first run if the list is too broad, too narrow, or not ordered for the review you are doing.
If the result says no satellites were found, simplify the search text or use a NORAD number. If records disappear after filters, loosen Freshness policy, turn off Show stale only, or check whether Only active is hiding non-operational or missing-overlay rows.

Interpreting Results:

Read TLE age, Freshness band, and Planning readiness before using the selected record for pointing or schedule work. Fresh and Monitor both stay inside the ready line, but Monitor still deserves a recheck near operation time. Aging is useful for review and preplanning. Stale should prompt a fresh element pull before committed contact windows.

Orbit class, Altitude, Inclination, Period, Mean motion, and Eccentricity are screening fields. They catch obvious mismatches, such as a broadband LEO search returning an unexpected high-altitude object, but they do not prove local visibility, elevation, Doppler behavior, or usable signal strength.

Status needs its source context. With SatNOGS overlay off, the row is TLE only. With overlay on, labels such as Active, Planned, Non-operational, Re-entered, or Unknown depend on public database coverage for that catalog number. Missing overlay data should be read as missing context, not as proof of spacecraft health.

The TLE Match Ledger is the comparison view, while Selected TLE Text preserves the exact record for the chosen satellite. Altitude Stack and Freshness Ladder make list-level outliers easier to spot. Use Link Planning Brief for final stop-and-check actions, especially stale-target warnings and partial-overlay warnings.

A clean status result is still only a starting point. Confirm pass geometry, ground-station position, frequency plan, equipment limits, and any mission-specific authority before treating a satellite as usable for an actual link.

Technical Details:

TLE data records mean orbital elements, not a directly measured real-time position. The catalog number identifies the object, line 1 carries the epoch, and line 2 carries fields such as inclination, eccentricity, and mean motion. Mean motion, measured in revolutions per day, is the main value used for the quick period and altitude estimate.

The altitude estimate uses a circular-orbit approximation from Kepler's third-law relationship. That is appropriate for sorting and sanity checks across a returned list, especially when distinguishing LEO, MEO, GEO-belt, and higher objects. It is not a substitute for SGP4 propagation to a specific time and observer location.

Formula Core

The calculation converts mean motion to angular speed, estimates semi-major axis, subtracts an Earth radius constant, and converts mean motion to orbital period.

ω = n \times \frac{2 π}{86400}

a = {\frac{μ}{ω^{2}}}^{1 / 3}

h = a - R

P = \frac{1440}{n} minutes

Variables and constants used for the satcom TLE estimate
Symbol	Meaning	Value or unit	Use
n	Mean motion from TLE line 2	rev/day	Primary input for period and altitude.
ω	Angular speed after unit conversion	rad/s	Feeds the semi-major-axis estimate.
μ	Earth gravitational parameter	398600.4418 km³/s²	Fixed constant in the Kepler estimate.
R	Earth radius used by the estimate	6371 km	Subtracted from semi-major axis.
P	Orbital period	minutes	Displayed for comparison and sorting.

For a mean motion near 15.5 rev/day, the period is about 93 minutes and the altitude estimate falls in the low Earth orbit range. For a mean motion near 1 rev/day, the estimate moves near geostationary height. Mean motion is therefore a fast family check before detailed propagation, but eccentricity, perturbations, and observer geometry still need a fuller model for operational use.

TLE fields used by the status tracker
TLE item	Displayed result	Interpretation note
NORAD catalog number	Satellite identifier	Best path for a narrow lookup when the exact object is known.
Epoch	TLE epoch, TLE age	Controls freshness and readiness labels.
Inclination	Inclination	Useful for recognizing orbital family and unexpected matches.
Eccentricity	Eccentricity	Shown as a shape clue, not used in the simple altitude estimate.
Mean motion	Mean motion, period, altitude, orbit class	Drives the quick period and altitude screen.

Orbit class rules based on estimated altitude
Orbit class	Lower bound	Upper bound	Rule
LEO	none	< 2000 km	Estimated altitude is below 2000 km.
MEO	>= 2000 km	< 34986 km	Estimated altitude is below the GEO tolerance window.
GEO belt	>= 34986 km	<= 36586 km	Estimated altitude is within 800 km of 35786 km.
HEO	> 36586 km	none	Estimated altitude is above the GEO tolerance window.

Freshness and readiness come from the same age value, but they answer different questions. Freshness names the age band. Planning readiness turns that band into an action cue for pointing and scheduling.

TLE age bands and readiness rules
TLE age	Freshness band	Planning readiness	Action cue
<= 1 day	Fresh (<=1d)	Ready for pointing	Suitable for a first-pass current status check.
> 1 and <= 2 days	Monitor (1-2d)	Ready for pointing	Recheck before precision-dependent work.
> 2 and <= 7 days	Aging (2-7d)	Use with caution	Good for triage, weak for committed windows.
> 7 days	Stale (>7d)	Refresh before use	Get newer elements before pointing or timing decisions.
Unknown or future epoch	Freshness unknown	Readiness unknown	Inspect the source record before using the row.

The active policy adds an outer age cap. Strict limits accepted records to 2 days, Balanced to 7 days, and Archive to 14 days. A manual TLE freshness value can only reduce that cap. Unknown-age rows remain visible so an unusual or malformed epoch can be investigated instead of disappearing from the result set.

SatNOGS context is applied after TLE parsing when the overlay is enabled. Alive becomes Active, future becomes Planned, dead becomes Non-operational, and re-entered or decayed rows become Re-entered. Operator, country, website, update time, and frequency-violator fields are added when available. If coverage is missing, the TLE-derived fields remain available and the overlay note explains the gap.

Accuracy and Privacy Notes:

The output is deterministic triage from public orbital records plus optional public satellite database context. It does not measure live RF signal, run a pass prediction for a ground station, verify spacecraft commandability, confirm transmitter availability, or decide whether a frequency plan is lawful.

Satellite search text or a NORAD number is sent to a public TLE lookup. When SatNOGS overlay is enabled, returned catalog numbers are checked for public status context. Do not enter confidential mission notes, private contact plans, or sensitive operational details into the search box.

Worked Examples:

Checking a current LEO broadband candidate

A user selects the Starlink preset, keeps Result cap at 10, and uses Strict policy. A selected row shows Orbit class LEO, altitude near 550 km, TLE age 0.5 days, Freshness band Fresh, and Planning readiness Ready for pointing. That is a reasonable first-pass record for near-term planning, but it still needs pass geometry and link checks before an antenna schedule is accepted.

Treating a borderline age as a recheck cue

A known NORAD ID returns TLE age 1.8 days. The row reads Freshness band Monitor (1-2d), while Planning readiness remains Ready for pointing. The practical response is to recheck near the operation time, not to discard the satellite immediately.

Reviewing an older GEO record

An operator keyword returns a spacecraft with estimated altitude near 35786 km and TLE age 10.4 days. Under Balanced policy the row is filtered out by the 7 day cap. Archive policy can keep it visible with Freshness band Stale and Planning readiness Refresh before use, which is appropriate for archive review but not for current contact timing.

Recovering from an empty filtered list

A search may return no entries after filters when SatNOGS overlay, Only active, Show stale only, and Strict policy are all active. That combination can ask for rows that are both active and aging while the policy caps accepted records at 2 days. Turning off Show stale only or switching to Archive policy exposes the older rows for inspection.

FAQ:

Does Active mean the satellite can support my link?

No. Active is public status context from SatNOGS. It does not prove transmitter availability, local visibility, frequency authorization, antenna pointing, modem compatibility, or link margin.

Why did a satellite disappear after I changed freshness?

The active freshness policy sets the maximum accepted TLE age: Strict is 2 days, Balanced is 7 days, and Archive is 14 days. A manual TLE freshness value can make that cap stricter.

Why does a number search behave differently from a name search?

A 3 to 6 digit query is treated as a possible NORAD catalog number and checked as a direct lookup before broader search results are added up to the result cap.

What if SatNOGS overlay is unavailable?

The orbit-derived results remain available. Status may read TLE only or Unknown, and the overlay note explains whether status context was turned off, partially available, or unavailable for the returned records.

Can I use the altitude value for exact orbit analysis?

Use it for screening and comparison only. Exact analysis needs propagation to the target time, observer location, reference-frame handling, and assumptions that are outside this quick status check.

Glossary:

TLE: A Two-Line Element set, the compact orbit record used for epoch, inclination, eccentricity, and mean motion.
NORAD catalog number: The numeric identifier used to look up or compare a specific Earth-orbiting object.
Epoch: The reference time for a TLE. TLE age is measured from this time.
Mean motion: The number of revolutions per day recorded in the TLE and used to estimate period and altitude.
Freshness band: The age label for the TLE, such as Fresh, Monitor, Aging, or Stale.
Planning readiness: The caution label that translates TLE age into a pointing or scheduling action.
SatNOGS overlay: Optional public database context for status, operator, country, update time, and related satellite details.

References:

TLE API, Ivan Stanojevic.
A New Way to Obtain GP Data, CelesTrak, updated 2026 May 09.
Revisiting Spacetrack Report #3: Rev 3, AIAA and CelesTrak, 2006.
SatNOGS DB API documentation, Libre Space Foundation.
SatNOGS DB, Libre Space Foundation.