Orbit positions or images of Earth?
The orbit map plots modelled spacecraft positions. For land and cloud images, open the Earth imagery map. For background mosaics, dated NASA layers and coverage limits, read the US satellite imagery guide or the Canada satellite imagery guide.
Available orbital catalog
Snapshot retrieved: . Retained orbital sources: Space-Track. Orbit-age exclusions: 1,140 stale, 0 missing or invalid epochs, 14 near expiry. These exclusions do not mean the objects have disappeared.
| Category | Retained records | Within orbit-age limit |
|---|---|---|
| Debris | 10,162 | 9,200 |
| Rocket bodies | 2,207 | 2,196 |
| Payloads and stations | 20,214 | 20,033 |
| Unknown type | 0 | 0 |
Counts describe this PocketWorld snapshot, not the entire population in space. The map also applies propagation checks, your filters and a device-dependent rendering budget; eligible records are not a promise of that many visible markers.
Payload and station examples with the newest available epochs
| Catalog ID | Name | Type | Orbit | Element epoch | Orbit-age check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22049 | GEOTAIL | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 2766 | OPS 6679 (VELA 8) | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 1459 | OPS 6564 (VELA 6) | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 13901 | ASTRON | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 1458 | OPS 6577 (VELA 5) | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 837 | OPS 3674 (VELA 4) | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 25867 | CXO | Payloads and stations | HEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 45223 | STARLINK-1212 | Payloads and stations | LEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 61642 | STARLINK-32264 | Payloads and stations | LEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 57629 | HEAD-3D | Payloads and stations | LEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 49022 | NINGXIA-1 10 | Payloads and stations | LEO | Within orbit-age limit | |
| 63600 | SHIYAN 27B | Payloads and stations | LEO | Within orbit-age limit |
Retained records
Read the actual records available to PocketWorld, with source context and a retrieval timestamp when known.
Element epochs
Compare the reference time of each orbital element set with the time the catalog was retrieved.
Separate object types
Payloads and stations, debris, rocket bodies and unknown types have different labels. A payload label does not prove active service.
Estimated positions
The globe applies propagation, filters and rendering limits. A catalog row is not a live telemetry reading or a visibility guarantee.
Read a catalog row before opening the globe
Start with the catalog identifier, object name and element epoch in the sample above. The sample contains at most twelve payload or station records with the newest available epochs. It is not a list of objects currently above your location, and a familiar spacecraft name does not establish its current operational state. Unknown fields remain unknown. The category table describes retained records across the catalog; its total is not a census of everything in Earth orbit.
Open the orbit map to explore estimated positions. The link selects the satellite catalog even after a previous visit to the Planets view. The map's active filters, propagation checks and device rendering budget still determine which markers appear. If a record is present in this table but absent on the globe, compare its epoch and orbit-age label, then inspect the active filters. Do not interpret a missing marker as a confirmed reentry or an inactive transmitter.
Three times that answer different questions
The snapshot retrieval time tells you when PocketWorld obtained the retained catalog. An element epoch is the reference time of an orbital element set. The clock used by the globe is the time for which a position is calculated. Refreshing this page can change the retrieval time without making every element set new. The table uses explicit UTC dates so that a US or Canadian local calendar day is not silently substituted for the source time.
CelesTrak's element-set FAQ explains the epoch fields and the identifiers in a TLE. Keep the catalog number separate from the international designator: the two labels serve different identification purposes. When comparing another tracker with this one, record the object identifier and both element epochs before interpreting a difference between the displayed positions. A matching name alone is a weaker comparison.
What the model and the age check establish
CelesTrak's GP data documentation describes orbital elements intended for propagation with SGP4. PocketWorld uses these kinds of elements to calculate a position; it does not receive a continuous position measurement from every spacecraft. Newer elements, a different element set, manoeuvres and the chosen calculation time can affect a comparison. This page supplies no universal distance-error bound for an individual object.
Within orbit-age limit means that a record passes PocketWorld's existing age check for its orbit class. It does not certify that a trajectory is precise enough for spacecraft operations. Further propagation checks can still reject a record. Missing or invalid epochs and records near an age-limit transition are counted separately; none of those exclusions demonstrates that the physical object has disappeared. An old retained snapshot can remain useful for identifying a record while being unsuitable for a current-position claim.
Orbit positions are separate from satellite photographs
A spacecraft marker and an image of the ground are different products. Moving the orbit globe does not request a fresh photograph below the selected satellite, and selecting a weather or communications category does not supply that spacecraft's image stream. Use the regional imagery links above for land and cloud context. Check the chosen layer and image date there; the orbital element epoch on this page is not an image acquisition date.
NASA Worldview is a separate viewer for dated Earth-observation layers. A mosaic, an individual acquisition and a dated overview can represent different periods and resolutions. Keep those source labels when comparing a Great Lakes scene, a western Canadian smoke view or a US coastline with a spacecraft map. A visible satellite marker does not establish that a usable image was acquired at that place or time.
Save a comparison that another reader can reproduce
Record the catalog ID, name, element epoch, source and snapshot retrieval time, along with the calculation time and active map filters. Keep a screenshot's capture time separate from all of those fields. This makes it possible to recognize a changed element set, an older retained source or a display filter before treating the difference as new activity in space.
The map does not calculate whether a satellite will be visible from your own window. Lighting, your observer location, horizon and sky conditions are separate questions. The New York ISS forecast guide and Toronto ISS forecast guide explain location-specific reference predictions, UTC times and their limits. A predicted opportunity is not a confirmed sighting. For debris classification, use the orbital debris guide; this educational catalog is not a collision-warning or reentry-prediction service.
Country collections
Orbital and imagery sources
The retained sample identifies the orbital providers represented in the data. CelesTrak references explain element formats; NASA Worldview concerns separate Earth imagery. Retrieval dates, element epochs and image acquisition dates describe different things.
Frequently asked questions
Is the table a count of active satellites?
No. It describes retained catalog records, with separate categories. A payload or station label does not establish active service, and eligible records are not a promise of that many visible map markers.
Does refreshing the page make the orbital elements current?
No. The retrieval time and each element epoch are separate. Read the UTC dates and source status before comparing records.
Can I see satellites from my US or Canadian location?
This catalog does not predict visibility for your own observer. The linked ISS city guides use stated reference locations and explain UTC prediction times, horizon geometry and sky-condition limits.
Does this orbit map show photographs of Earth?
No. Use the separate US and Canada imagery guides for available background mosaics and dated NASA layers. A spacecraft's orbital element epoch is not an image acquisition date.