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Instant-use add-on functions for the Wolfram Language

Function Repository Resource:

 CelesTrakTLE

Source Notebook

Retrieve two-line elements (TLEs) for satellites from CelesTrak

Contributed by: Jeff Bryant

ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][norad]

gives two line elements for the satellite orbit corresponding to the specified NORAD catalog integer number.

ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][entity]

gives two line elements for the satellite orbit corresponding to the specified "Satellite" entity.

ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["name"]

gives two line elements for the named satellite orbit.

ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["group"]

gives a list of two line elements for the satellite orbits corresponding to the specified "group".

ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][{spec1,spec2,…}]

gives two line elements for the satellite orbit corresponding to the various speci.

Details

Two‐line elements (TLEs) are a data format for storing the orbital elements of an Earth orbiting satellite for a given instant in time.
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"] requires internet access to call the Celestrak service
CelesTrak doesn't have TLEs for all orbiting objects, for example rocket bodies or debris may not be available
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["Groups"] returns a list of valid groups that can be queried
Valid groups includes:
"active"Active Satellites
"amateur"Amateur Radio Satellites
"analyst"Analyst Satellites
"argos"ARGOS Data Collection System
"beidou"Beidou Satellites
"cosmos-1408-debris"Russian ASAT Test Debris (COSMOS 1408)
"cosmos-2251-debris"COSMOS 2251 Debris
"cubesat"CubeSats
"dmc"Disaster Monitoring
"education"Education Satellites
"engineering"Engineering Satellites
"eutelsat"Eutelsat Satellites
"fengyun-1c-debris"Chinese ASAT Test Debris (FENGYUN 1C)
"galileo"Galileo Satellites
"geo"Active Geosynchronous Satellites
"geodetic"Geodetic Satellites
"globalstar"Globalstar Satellites
"glo-ops"GLONASS Operational Satellites
"gnss"GNSS Satellites
"goes"GOES Satellites
"gps-ops"GPS Operational Satellites
"hulianwang"Hulianwang Digui Satellites
"intelsat"Intelsat Satellites
"iridium-33-debris"IRIDIUM 33 Debris
"iridium-NEXT"Iridium NEXT Satellites
"kuiper"Kuiper Satellites
"last-30-days"Last 30 Days' Launches
"military"Miscellaneous Military Satellites
"musson"Russian LEO Navigation Satellites
"nnss"Navy Navigation Satellite System (NNSS)
"noaa"NOAA Satellites
"oneweb"OneWeb Satellites
"orbcomm"Orbcomm Satellites
"other"Other Satellites
"other-comm"Other Communications Satellites
"planet"Planet Satellites
"qianfan"Qianfan Satellites
"radar"Radar Calibration Satellites
"resource"Earth Resources Satelites
"sarsat"Search & Rescue (SARSAT)
"satnogs"SatNOGS Satellites
"sbas"Satellite-Based Augmentation System (WAAS/EGNOS/MSAS)
"science"Space & Earth Science Satellites
"ses"SES Satellites
"spire"Spire satellites
"starlink"Starlink Satellites
"stations"Space Stations
"tdrss"Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)
"telesat"Telesat Satellites
"visual"100 (or so) Brightest
"weather"Weather Satellites
"x-comm"Experimental Communications Satellites
"active&SHOW-OPS&DOCKED"Docked Active Satellites
"active&SHOW-OPS&OLDEST"Oldest Active Satellites

Examples

Basic Examples (4) 

Retrieve the two line elements (TLE) using the NORAD number of a satellite:

In[1]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][25544]
Out[1]=

The NORAD number can be specified as a string:

In[2]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["25544"]
Out[2]=

Retrieve the two line elements (TLE) using the entity representation of a satellite:

In[3]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][Entity["Satellite", "25544"]]
Out[3]=

Retrieve the two line elements (TLE) using the name of a satellite:

In[4]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["ISS"]
Out[4]=

Scope (2) 

A list of specifications can be provided to get back a list of TLEs:

In[5]:=
ResourceFunction[ "CelesTrakTLE"][{25544, Entity["Satellite", "18010"], "Hubble Space Telescope"}]
Out[5]=

Return a list of valid groups of satellites that can be queried:

In[6]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["Groups"]
Out[6]=

A list of TLEs can be returned for satellite groups:

In[7]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["stations"]
Out[7]=

Properties and Relations (1) 

ImportString can be used to parse the results of CelesTrakTLE into a list of rules:

In[8]:=
ImportString[ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"]["25544"], "TLE"]
Out[8]=

Possible Issues (2) 

Some satellites may not have TLEs available:

In[9]:=
ResourceFunction["CelesTrakTLE"][65118]
Out[9]=

This is because CelesTrak doesn't track "space junk", such as rocket bodies and debris:

In[10]:=
Entity["Satellite", "65118"]["Name"]
Out[10]=

Requirements

Wolfram Language 13.0 (December 2021) or above

Version History

  • 1.0.1 – 18 March 2026
  • 1.0.0 – 16 March 2026

Related Resources

License Information