[Kstars-devel] Could Kstars plot man-made satellite orbits?

[Jason Harris]

Hello James,

Thanks for the note.  We actually do have plans to include man-made satellites 
in the display.  In fact, someone contacted us a few months ago offering to 
contribute the code for this feature.  So, I think you will see it in the 
next version of KStars (the one that ships with KDE-4.0).

thanks,
Jason

> Greetings,
>
> Let me first say that I am blown away by the scope, sophistication, and
> sheer fun of this application.  You folks have created something  truly
> wonderful.
>
> Wired magazine just had an article on a group of individuals who monitor
> an= d
> catalog the orbits of all man-made satellites, including un-announced intel
> launches, visible space debri, etc.  The site "heavens-above.com" developed
> by Chris Peat has a very neat interface to all this data, including a nice
> sky map application showing current satellite activity visible above any
> geographic location.
>
> Are there any plans to include the orbits of man-made satellites as part of
> Kstars?  All the required data could probably be provided fairly easily,
> an= d
> in a standard/usable format by Mr. Peat (although I shouldn't speak for him
> - glancing at his site it's apparent the orbital data has to be
> standardize= d
> and portable.)
>
> This feature may be already in the works, but if it's not, and if it's
> feasable to implement, I'd bet a lot of people would love it.
>
> Thanks for listening and thanks for Kstars.
>
> James Sherman
> jsherman999 at gmail.com

-- 
Jason Harris
jharris at 30doradus.org