ASATDebrisCsExample

Example of calling space-track.org from c# to get info on orbital debris (from ASAT testing, in this case)

Note: This is a post is part of a multi-part series.

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Preface: Getting Data from Space-Track.org

In case you missed it: Please tread lightly here.

A Satellite Catalog (SatCat) contains information about objects in Earth's orbit. The data is generated by radar tracking stations, then categorized and cataloged by some (definitely) very smart analysts. We'll get debris object data from the REST API of a SatCat operated by the U.S. Strategic Command, Space-Track.org.

If it sounds a bit serious, it is.

Air Force Maj. Gen. David D. Thompson, U.S. Strategic Command’s director of plans and policy at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, said the release of new high-quality positional information on space debris of an unknown origin will help owner-operators better protect their satellites from these objects and ultimately create less space debris.
“We run a predictive program that shows where the objects are, where they will be in the future, and the potential for these objects to run into each other,” Thompson said.
Officials Expand Space-tracking Website
U.S. Department of Defense

If you adhere to the User Agreement you can obtain credentials to query the SatCat.

You'll need a Space-Track.org username and password shortly, so if you haven't already done so, go to space-track.org and register.

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Data Analysis

Querying the SatCat from C#

Sure, it was fun querying the SatCat from cURL, but we can't do a lot with the data (unless we write an app that parses these downloaded data from files).

The good news is we have even more power when we query the SatCat from an application we author in a programming language, such as C#.

In this post we're going to:

• Send http requests to Space-Track.org
• Authenticate a username/password AND submit a query in the same http request
• Alternatively, authenticate with the service in advance and store the result in a cookie that subsequent queries can use
• Submit a cdm_public query to receive 'conjunction' messages (e.g... collision near-miss alerts)
• Submit a gp query to get orbital data for a group of debris objects associated with an anti-satellite weapons test

Full Tutorial:
ASAT Code Tutorial 2: Process SatCat data yourself in a C# Application