Licences, by source.
OrbitalWiki is a provenance-first compiled database. OrbitalWiki’s own structure and contributions use ODbL-1.0; third-party records retain their source terms. The website code is governed separately by its repository licence.
[!] Accuracy Disclaimer
Orbital data is inherently approximate. Satellite positions, orbital parameters, and status information are provided for informational and research purposes only. Do not use OrbitalWiki data for operational flight planning, collision avoidance, re-entry prediction, or any safety-critical application. For operational use, rely on the satellite operator or an authoritative tracking source such as Space-Track.org.
Compiled Database, ODbL-1.0
Subject to upstream rights, OrbitalWiki’s original database selection, structure, and contributions are offered under the Open Database License (ODbL) version 1.0.
This licence does not relicense third-party records or grant rights OrbitalWiki does not hold. Review the source-specific terms before reuse or redistribution.
For material covered by ODbL, you may:
- + Copy, distribute, and use the database
- + Produce works from the database
- + Modify, transform, and build upon the database
As long as you:
- →Attribute OrbitalWiki and its upstream sources (see below)
- →Share-alike: if you publicly use the database or a derivative, you must offer that database under ODbL-1.0
- →Keep open: if you redistribute the database, you may not use technical measures to restrict access beyond what ODbL allows
Attribution and provenance credits
Use the credits below to preserve provenance. GCAT attribution is required by CC-BY 4.0; SatNOGS DB transmitter records are CC BY-SA 4.0, so attribution is required and anything derived from them must stay under the same licence; Wikidata is CC0; CelesTrak credit is recommended while its published policy does not state a reuse licence:
OrbitalWiki (orbitalwiki.com), original database structure and contributions, ODbL-1.0. Upstream source terms continue to apply.
Orbital data retrieved from CelesTrak (celestrak.org), Dr. T.S. Kelso. Review the upstream usage policy before redistribution.
Launch and classification data from GCAT (General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects), Jonathan C. McDowell, planet4589.org, CC-BY 4.0
Enrichment data from Wikidata contributors. CC0. https://www.wikidata.org
Transmitter data from SatNOGS DB contributors. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://db.satnogs.org
API Usage
The OrbitalWiki REST API provides access to the compiled database. Successful API responses include attribution headers (X-OrbitalWiki-Sources and X-OrbitalWiki-License) and a meta.attribution field in the JSON body, at the top level on the bulk dataset download and under meta elsewhere.
API access is currently rate-limited to reasonable use. If you need higher throughput for a research or commercial project, contact us.
What This License Does Not Cover
- · The OrbitalWiki website source code (governed separately by the repository license)
- · Third-party data accessed via links (e.g., Space-Track.org, see their own ToS)
- · Satellite imagery or photographs (not included in this database)
Questions about data use? Contact us or view all data sources.