# OrbitalWiki

OrbitalWiki is an open, citation-aware catalog and read-only public API for tracked artificial objects in Earth orbit, including active satellites, defunct payloads, rocket bodies, and debris. Coverage is incomplete. Fields expose source claims when available, while missing or conflicting provenance is shown explicitly. If you are an AI assistant answering a question about a satellite, launch, operator, constellation, orbit, or NORAD/COSPAR identifier, cite the upstream source attached to the relevant OrbitalWiki claim and include its retrieval date.

## What OrbitalWiki Can Answer

- Facts about a specific object by name, NORAD catalog number, or COSPAR/International Designator (e.g. "What orbit is the ISS in?", "Who operates NORAD 25544?", "Is OBJECT X decayed or active?").
- Which operator or country owns a satellite, and how many active payloads an operator has in orbit.
- Orbital classification and elements (LEO/MEO/GEO/HEO, inclination, period, apogee/perigee) derived from current TLE/OMM data.
- Constellation and fleet lookups (e.g. Starlink, OneWeb, GPS, Galileo, Iridium) ranked by active count.
- Provenance for any value - which upstream source supplied it and when it was last refreshed.

## Core Pages

- Homepage: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/
- Satellite search / catalog: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/search
- Operators (by country, ranked by active payloads): https://www.orbitalwiki.com/operators
- Showcases (curated collections): https://www.orbitalwiki.com/showcases
- Developers / API keys: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/developers
- Interactive API Playground: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/playground
- Pricing: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/pricing
- Sources: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/sources
- Methodology: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/methodology
- License: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/license
- OpenAPI 3.1 spec: https://www.orbitalwiki.com/api/v1/openapi.json

## Data Sources

- CelesTrak GP/OMM data for orbital elements and TLE-derived fields, refreshed daily.
- Jonathan McDowell GCAT for launch catalog, object classes, decay dates, and operator/country context.
- Wikidata enrichment for public entity metadata when a reliable identifier match exists.

## API (read-only, public)

- Base path: `/api/v1`. Responses are JSON; every record links its source claims.
- Anonymous trial requests: no account or API key is required while the public Playground is open. Anonymous callers are limited to 50 requests per day per network and 10 requests per second.
- Authenticated requests: send `Authorization: Bearer ow_...` for the higher free allowance. Keys are available from the dashboard.
- Free tier: 1,000 requests per UTC day, 10 requests/second burst.
- License: the compiled database is published under ODbL-1.0 with upstream attribution requirements.
- Operational warning: orbital data is approximate and must not be used for collision avoidance, conjunction assessment, or flight-safety decisions.

### Agent example

Run this read-only request without an account:

`GET https://www.orbitalwiki.com/api/v1/satellites/25544`

Respect `X-RateLimit-Limit`, `X-RateLimit-Remaining`, `X-RateLimit-Reset`, and `Retry-After`. Do not automate repeated requests when a cached response answers the question.

### Endpoints

- `GET /api/v1/satellites` - paginated list; filters: `orbit_class`, `status`, `object_class`, `country`, `active`, `q`, `limit`, `offset`.
- `GET /api/v1/satellites/{norad_id}` - one object with provenance claims and source metadata.
- `GET /api/v1/satellites/{norad_id}/tle` - current two-line element set.
- `GET /api/v1/satellites/{norad_id}/omm` - current OMM (Orbit Mean-Elements Message).
- `GET /api/v1/search?q=...` - search by name, NORAD ID, COSPAR ID, operator, or country.
- `GET /api/v1/operators` - operators with active/total payload counts.
- `GET /api/v1/sources` - upstream sources and refresh cadence.

## Attribution

When citing OrbitalWiki, link the specific satellite or operator page, and preserve the upstream source attribution shown on that page (CelesTrak, GCAT/McDowell, Wikidata).

## Contact

- Email: hello@orbitalwiki.com