SpaceNexus Guide: How to Use the Satellite Tracker

The SpaceNexus Satellite Tracker gives you a comprehensive view of the orbital environment — from the International Space Station to the latest Starlink deployment. Whether you're a satellite operator monitoring your fleet, a journalist researching a story, a student learning about orbital mechanics, or an analyst tracking constellation growth, this guide will help you get the most out of the tool.

Getting Started: The Overview Tab

When you first open the Satellite Tracker, you'll see the Overview tab — a high-level snapshot of the orbital environment:

• Quick Stats Banner: Total tracked satellites, active count, and breakdown by orbit type (LEO, MEO, GEO) at a glance
• ISS Highlight Card: Real-time position, altitude, velocity, and orbital period of the International Space Station. The "Track Live on N2YO" and "Spot the Station" links let you follow the ISS in your sky
• Distribution Charts: Visual breakdowns by orbit type and by purpose (Communications, Navigation, Earth Observation, etc.) showing what share of the orbital population each category represents
• Notable Satellites: Curated highlights of significant spacecraft — flagship missions, recently launched satellites, and noteworthy objects

The Overview tab is designed to give you situational awareness in 30 seconds — the current state of the orbital environment without needing to dig into individual records.

Browsing All Satellites

Switch to the All Satellites tab to explore the full catalog. Here you have powerful filtering tools:

• Search: Type any satellite name, NORAD ID, or operator name to find specific satellites. Searching "Starlink" shows all Starlink satellites; searching "25544" finds the ISS by its NORAD catalog number
• Orbit Filter: Narrow results to a specific orbit type — LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO, SSO, or Polar. Useful when you want to see only geostationary communications satellites or only low-Earth-orbit imaging spacecraft
• Status Filter: Show only Active, Inactive, or Deorbited satellites. Filter to "Active" for operational spacecraft, or "Deorbited" to see historical entries

Results display as satellite cards showing the name, operator, orbit type, altitude, inclination, and purpose for each satellite. The clear-filters button resets everything back to the full catalog view.

Analyzing by Operator

The By Operator tab ranks satellite operators by fleet size, showing the percentage of the total tracked population each operator controls. This view answers questions like:

• How many satellites does SpaceX operate compared to Planet Labs?
• What share of tracked objects belong to military operators?
• Which operators are growing their constellations fastest?

For deeper fleet analysis, the tab links to the Orbital Slots page, which provides detailed operator fleet compositions, growth projections, and orbital distribution data.

Common Use Cases

For Satellite Operators

Monitor your fleet's orbital status alongside competitors. Use orbit and operator filters to create a focused view of your constellation and neighboring objects. The Related Tools section links to Space Weather data for monitoring conditions that could affect your satellites.

For Analysts and Researchers

Use the purpose and orbit breakdowns to understand how the orbital population is distributed. Track the growth of mega-constellations over time. The data sources section lists our upstream providers (CelesTrak, Space-Track.org, UCS Database, NASA catalogs) for cross-referencing.

For Students and Enthusiasts

Start with the ISS Highlight Card — it's the most tangible connection to space. Use the "Spot the Station" link to find when the ISS passes over your location. Browse Notable Satellites to learn about significant spacecraft and their missions.

Tips and Tricks

• Bookmark filtered views: Filter settings are saved in the URL, so you can bookmark a specific filtered view (e.g., all GEO communications satellites) and return to it later
• Pull to refresh: On mobile, pull down on the page to refresh satellite data to the latest available positions
• Data freshness badge: The badge in the page header shows when data was last updated and allows manual refresh. Satellite orbital data updates every 6 hours from CelesTrak
• Related reading: The bottom of the page links to in-depth articles about satellite tracking, Starlink, and mega-constellations for deeper context

What's Next

We're continuously improving the Satellite Tracker. Upcoming features include 3D orbital visualization, conjunction alerts, pass prediction for your location, and historical orbit data. Create a free account to get notified when new capabilities launch.

Open the Satellite Tracker