Satellite Catalog Number

The Satellite Catalog Number (SATCAT), also known as NORAD Catalog Number, NORAD ID, USSPACECOM object number, is a sequential nine-digit number assigned by the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM), and previously the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), in the order of launch or discovery to all artificial objects in the orbits of Earth and those that left Earth's orbit.[1] For example, catalog number 1 is the Sputnik 1 launch vehicle, with the Sputnik 1 satellite having been assigned catalog number 2.[2]

Objects that fail to orbit or orbit for a short time are not catalogued.[3] The minimum object size in the catalog is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in diameter.[4] As of October 21, 2023, the catalog listed 58,010 objects, including 16,645 satellites that had been launched into orbit since 1957 of which 8,936 were still active.[5] 25,717 of the objects were well tracked while 2,055 were lost.[6] In addition USSPACECOM was also tracking 16,600 analyst objects.[7] Analyst objects are variably tracked and in constant flux, so their catalog and element set data are not published. As of September 12, 2023 ESA estimated there were about 36,500 pieces of orbiting debris that are large enough for USSPACECOM to track.[8]

Ranges reserved for temporary, reused numbers[9]
From To Description
70,000 79,999 Expected post-launch orbits.
80,000 89,999 Analyst objects. Objects tracked with insufficient fidelity and objects not associated with a known launch.
90,000 99,999 Uncorrelated tracks.
270,000 339,999 Additional analyst objects. The range will be released for permanent objects in the future.
700,000,000 899,999,999 Reserved for internal use by various systems.
900,000,000 999,999,999 Uncorrelated tracks.

Space Command shares the catalog via space-track.org,[10] which is maintained by the 18th Space Defense Squadron (18 SDS).

History

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Initially, the catalog was maintained by NORAD. From 1985 onwards, USSPACECOM was tasked to detect, track, identify, and maintain a catalog of all human-made objects in Earth orbit.[11] In 2002, USSPACECOM was disestablished and merged with the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). However, USSPACECOM was reestablished in 2019.[12]

Before 2020, the catalog number was limited to five digits due to the TLE format limitation. In 2020, Space-Track started to provide data in CCSDS OMM (Orbit Mean-Elements Message) format, which increased the maximum catalog number to 999,999,999.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Kelso, T.S. (January 1998). "Frequently Asked Questions: Two-Line Element Set Format". Satellite Times. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  2. ^ "SL-1 R/B Satellite details 1957-001A NORAD 1". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Space-Track.org. Retrieved July 14, 2019. Q: What criteria are used to determine whether an orbiting object should receive a catalogue number and International Designation? A: We must be able to determine who it belongs to, what launch it correlates to, and the object must be able to be maintained (tracked well).
  4. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Space-Track.org. Retrieved June 23, 2019. 10 centimeter diameter or "softball size" is the typical minimum size object that current sensors can track and 18 SPCS maintains in the catalog.
  5. ^ Kelso, T.S. "SATCAT Boxscore". CelesTrak. Retrieved Oct 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Kelso, T.S. "TLE History Statistics". CelesTrak. Retrieved Oct 21, 2023.
  7. ^ "Space-Track.org Space Scoreboard". Space-Track.org. Retrieved Nov 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "Space debris by the numbers". ESA. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  9. ^ @TSKelso (5 June 2024). "18 SDS just assigned NORAD Catalog Number 60011" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "USSTRATCOM expands SSA data on Space-Track.org". Air Force Space Command. October 10, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  11. ^ "Small Satellite Debris Catalog Maintenance Issues" (PDF). NASA. October 1, 1991. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  12. ^ "US Policy and Capabilities on SSA" (PDF). Secure World Foundation. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  13. ^ @SpaceTrackOrg (25 November 2020). "The satellite catalog is growing faster than ever" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 December 2020 – via Twitter.
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