Explore actual spacecraft by mission and NORAD catalog number. Learn what their orbits mean, then open each object in CUPOLA's interactive 3D globe.
The International Space Station is an inhabited research laboratory that circles Earth. Its rapidly changing ground track makes it one of the clearest ways to understand how orbital motion differs from a fixed point on a map.
Hubble is a space telescope above most of Earth's atmosphere. Unlike Earth-imaging satellites, its scientific purpose is to look outward at galaxies, nebulae, planets and other astronomical targets.
NOAA-20 is part of the Joint Polar Satellite System, which gathers environmental measurements as its orbit carries it across successive regions of Earth.
NOAA-21 extends the Joint Polar Satellite System's polar environmental observations. Its instruments provide measurements that are used in forecasting and Earth-system monitoring.
Landsat 9 continues a long-running record of images of Earth's land surface. Its mission is particularly useful for studying how cities, vegetation, water bodies and land use change over time.
GOES-18 is the GOES West operational weather satellite, providing a persistent observing perspective on the Pacific and western parts of the Americas.
CUPOLA computes estimated spacecraft positions from published orbital elements using SGP4. The displayed position can change with time even when the underlying element set was issued hours earlier. It is a prediction, not a direct telemetry connection to an individual spacecraft.
An orbital ground track shows where a spacecraft passes over Earth's surface. It does not establish whether a satellite is visible in your sky, currently gathering imagery, or transmitting data. Each profile explains the distinction for that mission.
Catalog availability and accuracy depend on upstream sources. If data is stale or unavailable, CUPOLA must label or reject the degraded result instead of implying that a position is confirmed.
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