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**ISS Tracker**

examples/ISS Tracker/README.md

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ISS Tracker

Overview

This project visualizes the real-time position and velocity of the International Space Station (ISS) using Serial Studio. Telemetry data is fetched from a public API and streamed over UDP. Serial Studio parses this data and displays it on interactive widgets including a map and gauges.

This project showcases real-time satellite tracking and requires no additional hardware, only Python, Serial Studio and an internet connection.

Note: Some Serial Studio features may require a paid license. Visit serial-studio.com for more details.

Telemetry Source

ISS data is retrieved from Where the ISS at? API, which provides accurate, regularly updated satellite telemetry. The following fields are extracted:

  • latitude: Geographic latitude in degrees.
  • longitude: Geographic longitude in degrees.
  • altitude: Altitude above Earth in kilometers.
  • velocity: Orbital velocity in kilometers per hour.

Project Features

  • Real-time map tracking of the ISS position.
  • Altitude bar graph with configurable alarms.
  • Velocity gauge with alarm thresholds.
  • UDP-based telemetry stream using simple JSON format.
  • Visual layout configured entirely via Serial Studio’s project editor.

Data Format

Each UDP frame is a newline-delimited JSON object:

json
{
  "latitude": 29.35,
  "longitude": -94.98,
  "altitude": 419.75,
  "velocity": 27650.0
}

Serial Studio parses the JSON into an array:

json
[29.35, -94.98, 419.75, 27650.0]

The widgets are then mapped to array indices:

  • Latitude: index 1
  • Longitude: index 2
  • Altitude (m): index 3 (first group)
  • Altitude (km): index 3 (second group)
  • Speed: index 4

How to Run

  1. Start the telemetry stream:

    bash
    python3 iss-tracker.py

    This Python script:

    • Pulls ISS data every second.
    • Sends it via UDP to 127.0.0.1:9000.

  2. Open Serial Studio:

    • Load iss-tracker.ssproj (provided project file).
    • Set input source to Network Socket, and select UDP as socket type.
    • Use port 9000.
    • Click Connect to start visualizing.

Serial Studio Visualizations

  • Map Widget: Displays live ISS position using latitude and longitude.
  • Bar Graph: Shows altitude in kilometers, with min/max alarms.
  • Gauge: Displays orbital speed, with low/high alarm threshold zones.

Files Included

  • iss-tracker.py: Python script that fetches and streams ISS data via UDP.
  • iss-tracker.ssproj: Serial Studio project file (preconfigured).
  • README.md: Project documentation.
  • doc/screenshot.png: Visualization screenshot.

Dependencies

  • Python 3.x
  • requests module (install via pip install requests)

Notes

  • The API occasionally returns incomplete or missing fields. The parser assumes valid JSON is always received; you can add error handling if needed.
  • The default port (9000) can be changed in both the Python script and Serial Studio, if needed.