OrbitMap turns publicly available orbital tracking data into a live, explorable 3D map — so anyone can see where the International Space Station, weather satellites, and thousands of other objects actually are right now, without needing a background in orbital mechanics.
Satellite tracking data has been publicly available for decades, but most tools that present it are built for engineers and hobbyist radio operators. We wanted something different: a map that a curious person could open, immediately understand, and use to answer three simple questions — what's above me right now, where am I relative to a satellite I care about, and when will it be visible from where I'm standing.
OrbitMap is an independent, self-funded project. It isn't affiliated with NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, SpaceX, or any space agency or satellite operator — we're simply developers and space enthusiasts who wanted a better way to visualize what's overhead.
Every satellite position shown on OrbitMap is calculated from Two-Line Element (TLE) data — a compact orbital format published by CelesTrak, a free, publicly accessible catalog of tracking data for active satellites. We don't operate any ground stations or tracking hardware ourselves; we fetch this public data on a regular schedule and do the orbital math client-side, in your browser.
We use the industry-standard SGP4/SDP4 propagation model to calculate each satellite's current latitude, longitude, altitude, and velocity from its TLE.
Orbital elements are refreshed roughly every hour. Positions between refreshes are computed continuously, so the map stays live even between data updates.
A curated set of well-known satellites (the ISS, Hubble, Tiangong, weather and Earth-observation satellites) alongside a much larger catalog of thousands of additional tracked objects, including Starlink.
There's no account system and no server-side database. Your location, if you share it, is used locally to power features like “What's Above Me” and is never stored on our servers.
OrbitMap pulls current TLE sets from CelesTrak's public catalog.
Using SGP4/SDP4 propagation, each satellite's position is recalculated continuously as time passes.
A 3D globe, 2D map, and sky-dome view are rendered directly in your browser, so you can rotate, zoom, and follow any object.
Quick-action tools translate that raw orbital data into plain answers: what's overhead, where you are relative to it, and when it'll next be visible.
OrbitMap is built for education and curiosity, not for navigation, aviation, spaceflight operations, or any safety-critical decision. Public TLE data can be delayed, approximate, or occasionally out of date, and predicted visibility passes are estimates. For anything where accuracy genuinely matters, please consult an authoritative operational source. Full details are in our Terms of Service.
The best way to understand OrbitMap is to open it and watch something move. Jump into the live tracker, or reach out if you have questions, feedback, or ideas.
Satellite names, imagery, and associated trademarks referenced on this site belong to their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for more.