SatNOGS
SatNOGS (Satellite Networked Open Ground Station) project is a free software and open source hardware platform aimed to create a satellite ground station network. The scope of the project is to create a full stack of open technologies based on open standards, and the construction of a full ground station as a showcase of the stack.[1][2][3]
![]() | |
![]() | |
Developer(s) | Libre Space Foundation |
---|---|
Initial release | April 2014 |
Repository | |
Type | Satellite Ground Station Network |
License | GNU GPL v3+, AGPL, CERN Open Hardware License |
Website | satnogs |
History
The SatNOGS project was initiated during NASA SpaceApps Challenge in 2014 at Athens Hackerspace.[4] The project then took part in and won the first place of the Hackaday Prize 2014 competition.[5] SatNOGS is currently a project of the Libre Space Foundation.[6]
Overview
SatNOGS aims to provide a stack of technologies needed for a distributed network of low Earth orbit satellite ground stations. In order to implement such a stack the four following different sub-projects are developed

Network
SatNOGS Network is a web application for scheduling observations across the network of ground stations.[7][8]
Database
SatNOGS Database is a crowd-sourced application allowing its users to suggest satellite transmitter information for currently active satellites. Its data is available via an API.[9]
Operation
A November 2019 SatNOGS blog post summarizes total statistics since establishment:[15]
- 300+ operational ground-stations
- 12,000,000+ observations
- 380+ satellites with 810+ transmitters monitored
- 51,000,000+ data frames
Tracking
The global array of ground stations contribute to an effective network for monitoring orbital satellites.[16]
The European Space Agency utilized the SatNOGS network to gain initial status observations from the OPS-SAT CubeSat after launch in December 2019.[17]
Notes and references
- "Hackaday: SatNOGS".
- Poblet, Marta; Fünfgeld, Hartmut; McShane, Ian (2014-11-30). "Telecommunications and disaster management". Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy. 2 (4). doi:10.7790/ajtde.v2n4.73.
- Dan, White (2018). "Overview of the Satellite Networked Open Ground Stations (SatNOGS) Project". 32nd Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- "SatNOGS at NASA Space Apps Challenge".
- "SatNOGS Wins the 2014 Hackaday Prize". November 2014.
- "SatNOGS". Libre Space Foundation. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- "SatNOGS Network source code".
- "You probably have never heard about SatNOGS and this is why you should". TEONITE. 2018-06-12. Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- "API — SatNOGS 1 documentation". satnogs.readthedocs.io. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- "SatNOGS Client source code".
- "GNU Radio Conference 2018 Keynotes".
- "SatNOGS Rotator source code".
- "SatNOGS Antennas source code".
- "SatNOGS Rotator Controller source code".
- "5 years after winning the Hackaday prize". SatNOGS. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
- "About • SatNOGS". SatNOGS. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
- @esaoperations (December 18, 2019). "And grateful thanks to @Coastal8049 and his fellow @SatNOGS team members for giving us our first indication the newborn #OPSSAT satellite was alive and well!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
See also
- UPSat