Education
LessonIntroductory programming or web APIs · 45 min

Make a Source-Aware API Request

Use the documented API to retrieve one record, then preserve the request, response date, and source claims instead of treating JSON as self-explanatory truth.

apijsonhttpprovenance
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Overview

An API response is a structured claim, not proof by itself. OrbitalWiki’s developer documentation shows authenticated record and search endpoints, plus source-claim and confidence fields in record responses.

Students make one small request and save enough context for somebody else to repeat it. They do not build a scraper or make claims beyond the returned record.

At a glance

Learning objectives

  • Send a documented GET request to retrieve one catalog record.
  • Read structured JSON without discarding identifiers and source claims.
  • Handle a non-success response as a visible program state.

Prerequisites

  • Basic command line, browser developer tools, or an HTTP client.

Required software

  • A browser, curl, or an HTTP client. An OrbitalWiki API key for authenticated requests.

Dataset version

OrbitalWiki live catalog. Record the dataset-release label from /datasets when available, or the exact access date for a live lookup.

Student instructions

  1. 1Read /developers/quickstart. Create an API key only if you need an authenticated request, and keep it out of screenshots and source control.
  2. 2Request the ISS record by NORAD ID 25544 using the documented GET endpoint.
  3. 3Save the endpoint path, status code, UTC access time, NORAD ID, and the response’s source-claim fields.
  4. 4Change the ID to a deliberately invalid value. Record the response status and handle it in your code or written flow without pretending a record was returned.
  5. 5Write a short function or pseudocode that displays the record name and NORAD ID only after a successful response, while retaining a link or reference to provenance data.

Expected output

  • One redacted request example and a saved, date-stamped response summary.
  • A success and error handling path that never exposes an API key.
[teacher]

Teacher materials, not student-facing

Teaching notes

  • Do not ask students to paste credentials into shared documents. A redacted header is enough.
  • Use the site’s OpenAPI document and quickstart as the current endpoint authority, not copied third-party snippets.

Answer key

What must not appear in a commit or screenshot?
An API key or any Authorization header value.
What makes the request auditable?
Endpoint, parameters or NORAD ID, response status, UTC access time, and preserved source/provenance fields.

How to cite

Cite the API endpoint path, NORAD ID, UTC access time, and the OrbitalWiki developer documentation version or URL. Never include credentials in a citation.

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