Satellite Tracking Application

Live 2D Java Satellite Tracking Maps
J-Track 2.5 is a great way to locate Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory or any of your favorite satellites other than International Space Station or Space Shuttle (see below)
+ Astronomy (Hubble, Chandra, etc.)
+ Earth Observation
+ Amateur (HAM) Satellites
+ Weather Satellites
+ Search and Rescue Satellites (some are multi-purpose)
+ Digital Radio

Human Space Flight's Tracking Map
This JAVA Applet, a part of the Human Space Flight web site, shows the position of the International Space Station and, when it is flying, the Space Shuttle.
+ Human Space Flight - Orbital Tracking Page




Live 3D Java Tracking Display
Did you know there are over eight thousand artificial objects orbiting Earth? Over 2,500 are satellites, operative and inoperative. The remaining objects are orbital debris: parts such as nosecone shrouds, lens, hatch covers, rocket bodies, payloads that have disintegrated or exploded, and even objects that "escape" from manned spacecraft during operations.

J-Track 3D is one of the most popular Java applets on our web site. It shows 900 satellites, out of thousands, swarming about our earth. You can rotate the display and modify all kinds of settings. The display will also zoom in and out.

Predictions for Viewing Space Station, or Other Satellites
Provided by the Human Space Flight web site, the Sighting Opportunities web page provides tables of sighting opportunities for Space Station by cities around the world. A java applet, Skywatch 2.0 provides information you need to view Internation Space Station, the Shuttle (when it is flying), and any of seven other satellites from wherever you are in the world. Also
+ Human Space Flight - Sighting Opportunities Page
+ Skywatch 2.0 Java Applet

Predictions for Viewing Unmanned Satellites
J-Pass is no longer fully supported, but is still available for finding predictions and sky charts for satellites besides Space Station and Shuttle. It doesn't know about new Zip Codes created in the last couple of years, but it will work with Latitude and Longitude for any location.

Zip Code



J-Pass E-mail Generator
Generates e-mail messages with a 3-day forcast of upcoming satellite passes for your particular location (except for Space Station of Shuttle - see Human Space Flight's Skywatch 2.0 above for that information). Select frequency of reports (3 times a week, or just on Fridays), the satellites you're interested in, and what mail format (HTML or not) you prefer.
+ J-Pass E-mail Generator Sign-Up
+ J-Pass Generator Help

Live 3D Tracking Snapshots These very popular snap-shot picture update every minute. For those without Java in their web browsers or on systems without Java, these are for a great way to follow allong with the tracking of satellites. We create images for the following satellites: + Hubble Space Telescope + Chandra X-Ray Observatory + NOAA 15 + NOAA 16 + NOAA 17 + NOAA 18

Landing Ground Tracks
Precicted landing tracks for recent or upcoming Shuttle flights, provided by the Human Space Flight web site.

+ Landing Ground Tracks
+ Deorbit and Landing Preliminary Advisory FAQ



Orbital Elements
Orbital Elements are the basic mathematical descriptions necessary to describe a satellite's position and orbit. NASA's Human Space Flight web site provides elements for Station and Shuttle. Celestrak, and non-NASA site, provides elements for hundreds of different satellites.
+ Human Space Flight's Orbital Elements Web Page
+ Shuttle Orbital Elements
+ International Space Station Orbital Elements
+ Celestrak

http://science.nasa.gov/