Teach and learn with a live satellite catalog
Lessons, datasets, and research methods built on OrbitalWiki's real, source-backed catalog. Pick a path below, search the lessons, or start with a student project.
Start with the learner
Choose the closest teaching context. You can refine the lesson list afterwards.
Secondary school
Ages 11–18. Short, self-contained activities using real satellite records.
Undergraduate aerospace
Orbit regimes, catalogs, and the identifiers that tie datasets together.
Data science
Joining, cleaning, and reasoning about a real, imperfect public catalog.
Computer science
Working with a public REST API, keys, and structured provenance data.
Amateur radio
Finding spacecraft, receiving responsibly, and planning passes from current orbital elements.
Research methods
Provenance, conflicting sources, and citing an evolving dataset honestly.
Choose a lesson
Filter by learner group, then narrow by topic, level, or time. Every card opens the full lesson.
3 lessons
- Lower and middle secondary (ages 11–15) · 40 min
Why Satellites Are Visible at Dusk
A satellite has no lights of its own. You see it only when it is still in sunlight and you are already in darkness, which is why the good window is narrow and why a pass can end abruptly.
observingilluminationearth-shadowpassestwilight - Beginner amateur radio and upper secondary physics · 50 min
Doppler Shift on a Satellite Pass
A satellite moving at kilometres per second drags its own signal in frequency. Work out the size of the shift yourself, plan a receive-only session around it, and never transmit as part of this activity.
doppleramateur-radiopassesreceivingfrequencysafety - Beginner amateur radio · 40 min
Plan a Receive-Only Satellite Session
Find a candidate, calculate a pass for your location, and make a receive-only plan. Do not transmit from this lesson.
amateur-radiopassesreceivingtlesafety
Educator resources
Notebooks
Jupyter notebooks that run against the live OrbitalWiki API. Every request in them is real and was executed before publication. Download one, open it in Jupyter, run it top to bottom.
All notebooksDataset downloads
Use versioned dataset releases for reproducible coursework.
Browse datasetsCitation guide
Use the site guide to cite records and dataset releases accurately.
Open citation guideRequest a lesson language
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Request a languageInstructor packs
The Satellite Science Unit Pack collects all 17 lessons into one printable document, with every worksheet, answer key and figure included, under a licence that covers a single classroom or family. Every lesson stays free to read and download on its own.
Student project ideas
Identifier detective
Pick ten satellites, record both identifiers from their record pages, and explain what each identifier does and does not tell you. Builds directly on the identifiers lesson.
Orbit-regime census
Use the catalog's orbit-class data to count how many active objects sit in LEO, MEO, GEO and HEO, and write up what the distribution implies about how space is used today.
Provenance audit
Find a satellite whose record shows conflicting or unverified fields, then trace each claim to its source and confidence. A concrete introduction to data provenance.