How to Perform SupGP Queries

by Dr. T.S. Kelso
2022 Jun 19
Updated 2022 Jul 15

Background

Just like with standard GP queries, users may now use standard queries to extract data from the Supplemental GP (SupGP) data.

The Implementation

All SupGP queries on CelesTrak take the form:

where {QUERY} is:

Allowed formats are:

The FORMAT specification is optional, but defaults to TLE (to support legacy queries).

Examples:

Differences from Standard GP Queries

Unlike in the standard GP queries, it is possible to get multiple SupGP elements for a single object. That is because some objects have data produced by multiple sources (e.g., with the CPF data) or because there is data for multiple epochs.

In the CPF data, multiple observatories track objects and produce predictions for ILRS satellites. That data shows the CPF name with the 3-character prediction center in brackets as the OBJECT_NAME.

The ISS ephemeris, which spans two weeks, is broken into 6-hour segments to best represent changes due to drag or ISS maneuvers.

The Intelsat data includes weekly updates along with post-maneuver [PM] updates (if applicable), so there may be weekly/post-maneuver/weekly data for the same object.

It is important that users use the appropriate data when multiple epochs are available. SupGP data is fitted from the current epoch forward, as opposed to GP data where that is fit to past observations.