SATCAT Format Documentation

Updated 2023 May 7

This documentation has been updated to include our new CSV format, which is intended to allow for easier parsing of the data (e.g., using a spreadsheet) and to support 9-digit catalog numbers. The legacy text format is not able to support catalog numbers above 99999, Unicode characters, increased precision in numerical fields, or launch/decay dates including time, due to the fixed-column format.

CSV Data Format (RFC 4180):

The file begins with a list of fields used in the data and is then followed by the individual entries. Entries only exist for cataloged objects, that is, there are no blank entries for missing catalog numbers.

Field	Description
OBJECT_NAME	Satellite Name(s) R/B(1) = Rocket body, first stage R/B(2) = Rocket body, second stage DEB = Debris PLAT = Platform Items in parentheses are alternate names Items in brackets indicate type of object (e.g., BREEZE-M DEB [TANK] = tank) An ampersand (&) indicates two or more objects are attached
OBJECT_ID	International Designator (YYYY-NNNAAA) Launch year (4 digits) Launch of the year (3 digits) Piece of the launch (1-3 alphabetic characters, excluding I and O)
NORAD_CAT_ID	NORAD Catalog Number
OBJECT_TYPE	Object type PAY = Payload R/B = Rocket body DEB = Other debris UNK = Unknown
OPS_STATUS_CODE	Operational Status Code
OWNER	Ownership
LAUNCH_DATE	Launch Date [year-month-day] (ISO 8601)
LAUNCH_SITE	Launch Site
DECAY_DATE	Decay Date, if applicable [year-month-day] (ISO 8601)
PERIOD	Orbital period [minutes]; null if no data available
INCLINATION	Inclination [degrees]; null if no data available
APOGEE	Apogee Altitude [kilometers]; null if no data available
PERIGEE	Perigee Altitude [kilometers]; null if no data available
RCS	Radar Cross Section [meters²]; null if no data available
DATA_STATUS_CODE	Data status code; blank otherwise NCE = No Current Elements NIE = No Initial Elements NEA = No Elements Available
ORBIT_CENTER	Orbit center AS = Asteroid CO = Comet EA = Earth ELx = Earth Lagrange (EL1 = Earth L1, EL2 = Earth L2) EM = Earth-Moon Barycenter JU = Jupiter MA = Mars ME = Mercury MO = Moon (Earth) NE = Neptune PL = Pluto SA = Saturn SS = Solar System Escape SU = Sun UR = Uranus VE = Venus NORAD_CAT_ID for docked objects
ORBIT_TYPE	Orbit type ORB = Orbit LAN = Landing IMP = Impact DOC = Docked to another object in the SATCAT R/T = Roundtrip

All SATCAT queries take the form:

https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?{QUERY}=VALUE[&FORMAT=VALUE]

where {QUERY} is:

CATNR: Catalog Number (1 to 9 digits). Allows return of data for a single catalog number.
INTDES: International Designator (yyyy-nnn). Allows return of data for all objects associated with a particular launch.
GROUP: Groups of satellites provided on the CelesTrak Current Data page.
NAME: Satellite Name. Allows searching for satellites by parts of their name.
SPECIAL: Special data sets for the GEO Protected Zone (GPZ) or GPZ Plus.

with optional flags (if not included, default values are used):

PAYLOADS: Only return objects that are payloads [Default = FALSE]
ONORBIT: Only return objects that are currently on orbit [Default = FALSE]
ACTIVE: Only return objects that are active payloads [Default = FALSE]
MAX: Only at most MAX results are returned [Default = ALL]

Allowed formats are:

JSON: Keywords for all SATCAT elements in JSON format.
JSON-PRETTY: Keywords for all SATCAT elements in JSON pretty-print format.
CSV: Keywords for all SATCAT elements in CSV format.

The FORMAT specification is optional, but defaults to JSON.

Examples:

JSON format for ISS (25544)
https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?CATNR=25544 (default format)
CSV format for the Stations list found on CelesTrak
https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?GROUP=STATIONS&FORMAT=CSV
JSON format (pretty print) for all objects from the Starlink launch using International Designator 2020-025
https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?INTDES=2020-025&FORMAT=JSON-PRETTY
CSV format for active payloads in the GEO Protected Zone
https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?SPECIAL=gpz&FORMAT=CSV&ACTIVE=1
CSV format for first 500 pieces of FENGYUN 1C DEB still on orbit
https://celestrak.org/satcat/records.php?NAME=FENGYUN 1C DEB&FORMAT=CSV&ONORBIT=1&MAX=500

Legacy Text Data Format:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000111111111111111111111111111111111
000000000111111111122222222223333333333444444444455555555556666666666777777777788888888889999999999000000000011111111112222222222333
123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yyyy-nnnaaa  nnnnn M*O aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  aaaaa  yyyy-mm-dd  aaaaa  yyyy-mm-dd  nnnnn.n  nnn.n  nnnnnn  nnnnnn  nnn.nnnn  aaa
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Columns	Description
001-011	International Designator Launch Year (001-004) Launch of the Year (006-008) Piece of the Launch (009-011)
014-018	NORAD Catalog Number
020-020	Multiple Name Flag ("M" if multiple names exist; alternate names found in satcat-annex.txt)
021-021	Payload Flag ("*" if payload; blank otherwise)
022-022	Operational Status Code
024-047	Satellite Name(s) R/B(1) = Rocket body, first stage R/B(2) = Rocket body, second stage DEB = Debris PLAT = Platform Items in parentheses are alternate names Items in brackets indicate type of object (e.g., BREEZE-M DEB [TANK] = tank) An ampersand (&) indicates two or more objects are attached
050-054	Source or Ownership
057-066	Launch Date [year-month-day]
069-073	Launch Site
076-085	Decay Date, if applicable [year-month-day]
088-094	Orbital period [minutes]; truncated at 99999.9
097-101	Inclination [degrees]
104-109	Apogee Altitude [kilometers]; truncated at 999999
112-117	Perigee Altitude [kilometers]; truncated at 999999
120-127	Radar Cross Section [meters²]; N/A if no data available
130-132	Orbital Status Code NCE = No Current Elements NIE = No Initial Elements NEA = No Elements Available DOC = Permanently Docked ISS = Docked to International Space Station XXN = Central Body (XX) and Orbit Type (N) AS = Asteroid EA = Earth (default if blank) EL = Earth Lagrange EM = Earth-Moon Barycenter JU = Jupiter MA = Mars ME = Mercury MO = Moon (Earth) NE = Neptune PL = Pluto SA = Saturn SS = Solar System Escape SU = Sun UR = Uranus VE = Venus 0 = Orbit 1 = Landing 2 = Impact 3 = Roundtrip (e.g., SU0 = Heliocentric Orbit, MO2 = Lunar Impact)