Orbit types
LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO — how altitude, speed, and inclination shape what each orbit is used for.
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Live
Learn Space · Intel Brief
Understand what is moving above Earth.
Use the live app as an interactive lesson: start with one object, inspect its orbit, compare mission categories, then move into evidence-based research workflows.
Today's live sky brief.
LIVEGenerated automatically from live CelesTrak satellite data and NASA/JPL asteroid feeds. This assessment updates every time you visit — covering low-altitude objects, stale tracking epochs, upcoming asteroid passes, constellation trends, and orbital anomalies.
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Lessons
Short reads · live-data companions
Satellite uses
Communications, navigation, Earth observation, weather, science, defense — and how to tell them apart.
Start lesson →Sensor limits
Resolution, sensitivity, coverage gaps, and why public catalogs never show everything.
Start lesson →How to read TLE data
Decode Two-Line Element sets: epoch, inclination, eccentricity, mean motion, and update age.
Start lesson →Asteroid close approaches
How NASA/JPL tracks near-Earth objects and how to read distance, velocity, and hazard flags.
Start lesson →What satellite is that?
Identify a moving light in the sky: brightness, direction, timing, and matching it to a real object.
Start lesson →ISS & Starlink guides
Spot the Space Station and Starlink trains tonight — pass timing, direction, and visibility windows.
Reentry & debris
Why objects fall back, how reentries are predicted, and what space debris means for the catalog.
Start lesson →What the daily assessment includes
Satellites orbiting below 420 km — potential reentry candidates or objects in unusual positions. Sorted by altitude.
Objects whose orbital data hasn't been updated in 3+ days. May indicate tracking gaps, maneuvers, or objects no longer being monitored.
Near-Earth objects from NASA/JPL passing within 0.2 AU, with distances, velocities, hazard status, and close-approach dates.
Breakdown of tracked objects by orbit type (LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO) and purpose (communications, navigation, weather, defense, debris).
Hands-on with the live tracker
Click any dot or object-row. Learn NORAD ID, orbit type, speed, altitude, latitude/longitude, mission category, and inferred operator.
Use LEO, MEO, GEO, and HEO filters to see why altitude, speed, inclination, and update age change the way objects behave.
Use the Investigation Lab to compare TLE snapshots, SATCAT records, launches, decay records, and unusual orbit-element changes.
Research workflow
Start with a public lead, not a claim. Save a TLE snapshot, compare it with older snapshots, check SATCAT metadata, inspect nearby launches or reentries, and document what would confirm or reject the lead. Private admin AI can help rank candidate leads, but it cannot prove a discovery alone.
What should beginners learn first?
Start with altitude, speed, inclination, and orbit type. Then compare purpose categories such as communications, navigation, Earth observation, weather, human spaceflight, and debris.
Can this support deeper research?
Yes. The current app supports snapshot comparison, SATCAT correlation, reentry checks, near-Earth asteroid context, and private admin AI assessment. Stronger research would add longer history, observer pass prediction, Space-Track credentials, and independent observation reports.
What should not be claimed?
Do not claim a new discovery, threat, ownership, or maneuver from a single visualization. Treat visual findings as candidates that need authoritative confirmation.
CelesTrak satellite data and NASA/JPL asteroid feeds updated continuously.
Research workflowFrom question to insight — learn a repeatable workflow for space research.
Mission categoriesExplore common mission types and the orbits they use, live in the tracker.
Asteroid close approachesHow we track asteroids and assess potential close approachers.