Satellite contract
A ground station or fleet agent can publish satellite telemetry and orbital elements without installing software on the spacecraft. Use the satellite measurement and a stable entity_id.
Record fields
| Property | Kind | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
entity_id | Required tag | Stable identity. A link's target must match this ID. |
entity_type | Required tag | Set to satellite for console rendering. |
observed_by | Optional tag | Station or agent reporting the observation. |
norad_id | Optional field | NORAD catalog number, as a string. Supply only the object's actual catalog number. |
tle_line1, tle_line2 | Paired string fields | Complete orbital elements for propagation. Publish both lines together. |
Include at least one field. Publish the elements alongside other fields at the same timestamp: topology selects the latest sample and does not merge older fields into it. See Data model.
Position and identity
The console uses orbital elements to propagate satellite positions at the playhead. A satellite listed in topology needs usable elements before its orbit can be displayed. Ground-site latitude and longitude are not a substitute for satellite orbital elements.
Use valid TLEs for the object being represented. Do not give a synthetic satellite a real object's catalog number; catalog enrichment can associate that number with the real object. Keep test identities distinct from operational assets.
Strip carriage returns and newlines from each TLE string before writing line protocol. See Escaping.
Freshness
Republish within the consumer's freshness window. The API defaults to 300 seconds; a caller can request a different window. An old telemetry sample can fall outside a topology read even when its orbital elements remain usable. See Topology.
Observation time, TLE epoch, and equipment health describe different things. Do not infer spacecraft health from a ground station's connectivity or from the presence of orbital elements.
Next: Operate a fleet.