OpenSatTrack

OPEN-SOURCE OPTICAL SATELLITE TRACKING — IN DEVELOPMENT

A telescope points at the sky, a satellite crosses the field, and a few pixels become an orbit. OpenSatTrack is being built to carry that transformation from end to end — openly, reproducibly, and with the science always in sight.

> Why OpenSatTrack

Optical space surveillance runs on software that few people can inspect. OpenSatTrack starts from a simple conviction: measurements that matter deserve a pipeline that can be read, questioned and reproduced — by an observatory, a university, or a single careful engineer.

  • Transparent — every rule, every threshold and every product is documented and visible.
  • Reproducible — the same inputs and the same version give the same result, and every product can be traced back to both.
  • Scientific first — accuracy is measured against reference datasets, not asserted in a brochure.

> The Chain

One observing session, one continuous flow. Each step produces an explicit, traceable product — and each can be inspected on its own.

Acquisition & ingestion

From the telescope to a coherent session

Observation archives, frame sequences and their metadata are gathered into a coherent session: the unit of work for everything that follows.

Calibration

Trustworthy pixels

Sensor calibration frames are combined into reference masters, and every science frame is corrected before any measurement is made.

Background & detection

The finder

The sky background is modelled, sources are extracted, and the field is sorted into point-like stars, streaks and moving objects. The detection engine is called finder.

Astrometry

Where, exactly

Each frame receives a precise celestial coordinate solution, refined against a star catalogue, with residuals reported honestly.

Photometry

How bright

Brightness is measured and calibrated, so an object’s signature can be compared across nights and instruments.

Linking & tracking

From dots to a trajectory

Detections become tracklets, tracklets become tracks, and a first orbit turns a series of dots into a trajectory.

Validation

Doubt, made useful

Tracks are confronted with catalogues and quality criteria. What does not pass is flagged, never hidden.

Products

Something others can use

Standard tracking data messages, session reports and exportable measurement tables: artefacts an SST ecosystem can actually use.

Visual interface

For the people at the telescope

Sessions, runs, frames and tracks are reviewed in a workspace designed for the people who operate the telescope.

> Principles

Science before features

Tolerances, metrics and reference datasets come first. The project earns trust by measuring itself.

Nothing implicit

Configuration is typed, artefacts are declared and immutable, and no step depends on a file hidden in a temporary folder.

One chain, several modes

Tracking, survey, survey with tracking and calibration share the same skeleton; the observation mode changes the policy, not the architecture.

Open by construction

Source, formats and documentation will be public. No hidden format, no lock-in.

Human-readable

A pipeline that cannot be read cannot be trusted. Names, documents and interfaces are part of the design.

Progressive

A solid core first. Advanced features and performance work only where measurements justify them.

> Status

OpenSatTrack is in its foundation phase. The scientific scope, the vocabulary and the data contracts are being written before the first line of production code. The simulator is designed as a separate project.

  • Foundation — scope, vocabulary, reference datasets, acceptance criteria.
  • Core chain — ingestion to a first validated product, end to end.
  • Scientific depth — calibration, photometry, refined astrometry, validation.
  • Operations — traceability, scheduling, multi-user access.
  • Interface — a workspace for sessions, runs and results.
  • Hardening — performance, packaging, documentation, simulator.

> Who it is for

Observatories that want to publish measurements, universities that teach space surveillance, teams that need a pipeline they can audit — and anyone who believes that looking at the sky should leave a trace others can verify.

> Follow the project

Source code and documentation will be published on the forge as the foundation is laid. For collaboration, data or questions, write to Pierre-Guillaume.

[ contact ] [ the forge ] [ Nunki Labs ]