API & embeds
One clean JSON catalog of human-made objects in space, from low Earth orbit to the surface of Mars, for developers, educators and newsrooms. Plus globe views you can drop into a page.
Plans
| No key | Free key | API Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Requests per day | 500 per IP | 2,000 | 100,000 |
| Objects, positions, passes, Moon, Mars, deep space, launches, re-entries | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bulk catalog download (/catalog) | — | — | ✓ |
Element history (/objects/{norad}/history) | — | — | ✓ |
| Re-entry alerts by email or webhook | — | — | ✓ |
| Attribution required | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Get a free key or subscribe from your account. Limits reset at 00:00 UTC. Responses include x-ratelimit-remaining.
Quick start
curl https://orbitry.net/api/v1/objects/25544
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer orb_your_key" \
"https://orbitry.net/api/v1/objects/25544/passes?lat=51.48&lon=0&days=3&visible_only=true"Every response is {"data": …, "meta": {"attribution": …, …}}. Errors are {"error": "message"} with an HTTP status. CORS is open, so you can call the API from a browser.
Endpoints
GET /api/v1/objects
Search active Earth-orbit objects. Parameters: q (name, NORAD number or international designator), orbit (leo, meo, geo, heo), purpose (comms, earthobs, weather, navigation, science, human, tech, military, unknown), type (PAY, R/B, DEB), country, operator, limit (≤500), offset.
GET /api/v1/objects/{norad}
Everything about one object: operator, country, purpose, launch date, mass, orbit, the OMM element set, photo with license, 3D model if any, and a reviewed summary if one is published. meta gives the data age and a plain-language accuracy statement.
GET /api/v1/objects/{norad}/position?t=ISO
SGP4 position at a time within 30 days of the element epoch: latitude, longitude, altitude, speed, and TEME and Earth-fixed vectors.
GET /api/v1/objects/{norad}/passes?lat=&lon=&height=&days=&min_el=&visible_only=
Rise, highest point and set for each pass over an observer, with compass directions, visibility and estimated magnitude where known. Up to 10 days.
GET /api/v1/objects/{norad}/history?from=&to= Pro
Element sets as published by CelesTrak, recorded since Orbitry's history service started.
GET /api/v1/catalog Pro
The whole merged catalog in one download, with OMM elements for every object.
GET /api/v1/moon · /api/v1/mars
Landers, rovers, impact sites (planetocentric coordinates, east-positive) and orbiters, with dates, outcomes, sources and review status.
GET /api/v1/deep-space
Current distance from Earth and the Sun, speed and one-way light time for deep-space probes, from NASA/JPL Horizons.
GET /api/v1/launches · /api/v1/reentries
Upcoming and recent launches (from The Space Devs' Launch Library 2), recent re-entries and low, decaying objects.
GET · POST · DELETE /api/v1/alerts Pro
Create a re-entry alert with {"kind": "reentry", "norad": 12345, "webhook_url": "https://…"}. We email you, and POST {"type": "reentry", "object": {…}} to your webhook, when the object is recorded as re-entered.
Attribution and accuracy
Show "Data from Orbitry" with a link to orbitry.net wherever you use the data, on every tier. The exact text is in each response's meta.attribution. Orbitry's data comes from CelesTrak, Jonathan McDowell's GCAT (CC BY 4.0), NASA/JPL Horizons, The Space Devs, OpenNGC and Wikimedia Commons; individual photos carry their own licenses in the photo field.
Positions are computed from public orbital elements with SGP4. They're good for visualisation and pass timing, not for collision avoidance, precise pointing or safety-of-flight decisions. See Data & accuracy.
Embed a globe
Put a live globe in a lesson or an article with an iframe. Pick options and copy the code.