Where are the satellites right now?
The tracker calculates satellite positions for the current time from CelesTrak orbital elements using SGP4 orbit propagation. Motion updates continuously in the 3D scene. These are calculated positions, rather than a direct telemetry feed from each spacecraft.
How to use the satellite tracker
Open the tracker with the button above: Earth loads with Satellites switched on. Drag to orbit Earth, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select a satellite dot for its details. Use Explore to find the ISS. Earth’s View controls let you switch satellites, launch pads, clouds and auroras on or off.
How fresh is the satellite data?
Cosmoscope requests CelesTrak’s active-satellite catalogue when loading orbital data and caches a successful download for up to six hours. If the service is unavailable, a cached or bundled catalogue can be used. Position accuracy depends on the age of those orbital elements, and the catalogue is not a complete list of every object in orbit.
Data source
CelesTrak orbital data. Cosmoscope is an independent visualisation using public data.