This project is a complete International Space Station (ISS) tracking system designed for both web and desktop platforms. It visualizes the live position, speed, and altitude of the ISS using real-time APIs and orbital prediction data. The goal is to provide an interactive, educational tool to understand how the ISS moves and where it orbits at any given time.
- Displays the real-time location of the ISS on a world map.
- Live updating telemetry including latitude, longitude, altitude, and speed.
- Automatic refresh every 10 seconds.
- Reverse geolocation to show the country or ocean below the ISS.
- Visual yellow trail showing the historical path of the ISS.
- Beautiful UI with dark mode and animated charts for:
- 📈 Altitude (km)
- 🚀 Speed (km/h)
- Predicts ISS trajectory over the next 24 hours using Two-Line Element (TLE) data.
- Simulates motion on a 2D map with colored trail path.
- Includes real-time charts (using
matplotlib) for:- Speed in km/s
- Altitude in km
- Displays region name, current time (UTC), and telemetry values.
- Smooth animation using GUI-based rendering with dynamic color visuals.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
real_time_iss_tracker.html |
Web-based live ISS tracker built with JavaScript, HTML5 Canvas, and Chart.js |
iss_tracker_visualization.py |
Python desktop app with real-time simulation and charts using Tkinter and Skyfield |
iss_data.csv |
Sample or logged ISS telemetry data including position, speed, altitude, region |
requirements.txt |
Lists all Python libraries required for running the desktop app |
README.md |
Documentation file describing the project |
- Skyfield Library: For satellite tracking using TLE (Two Line Element) data
- Chart.js: Real-time chart rendering in the browser
- Matplotlib: Live charts in the desktop application
- Pillow (PIL): Image handling for background maps
- Geolocation API: Identifies region under ISS in real-time
- Tkinter: GUI toolkit used for desktop-based visualization
- Web APIs: Fetches live ISS telemetry from open data sources
This project was designed as a self-driven research and development exercise. It helps in:
- Understanding how satellites orbit the Earth
- Working with real-time and predictive space data
- Visualizing complex data with interactive UI/UX
- Learning full-stack skills: HTML/CSS/JS + Python + APIs + Charts
- The web version is lightweight and requires no server or backend.
- The desktop version uses precise orbital calculations based on NASA's TLE data.
- The charts update in real-time, giving insight into the dynamics of ISS movement.
-
ISS real-time map view with trail
-
Chart views showing altitude/speed over time
-
Desktop Tkinter simulation interface
Visit website for real tracker - https://iss-tracker-web.web.app/ ISS_Tracker_Report.docx
Find full dataset here: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/vaibhavrawat277/iss-real-time-tracker-10s-interval-dataset
You can use this dataset for your own personal and as well as commercial use.
- TLE and orbital data from Celestrak
- Live telemetry API from wheretheiss.at
- Reverse geolocation by OpenStreetMap via Maps.co
- Developed by Vaibhav Rawat as part of a solo research & learning initiative