Orbital Analyst
Spatial analysis and orbital mechanics intertwined. Learn PostGIS for spatial SQL, then layer in two-line element sets, SGP4 propagation, and ground-track geometry to answer questions like 'which spaceports can serve a sun-synchronous orbit?' or 'which countries does the ISS overfly in a 24-hour window?'.
What you'll learn
- Run spatial joins, buffers, intersections, and dissolve operations in QGIS and PostGIS.
- Read a TLE and explain what each Keplerian element means physically.
- Propagate a satellite using SGP4 in Python (skyfield) and produce ground-track GeoJSON.
- Compute coverage / line-of-sight from a ground station to a satellite at any time.
- Match spaceports to orbital regimes (LEO / GEO / SSO / Molniya) based on geometry alone.
Prerequisites
Ground Station Operator track or equivalent — you must be comfortable with coordinate systems, vector data in QGIS, and basic Python.
Tools you'll use
PostGIS 16 · skyfield · geopandas · Folium · matplotlib
Weekly curriculum (6 weeks)
- Week 5 Spatial operations: joins, buffers, intersects, dissolve
- Week 6 PostGIS: spatial SQL fundamentals
- Week 7 Orbital mechanics primer: TLEs and Keplerian elements
- Week 8 SGP4 propagation in Python with skyfield
- Week 9 Ground-to-satellite line-of-sight and coverage
- Week 10 Spaceports and orbits (Capstone 2 week) Capstone 2
Why this track matters from Hawaiʻi
Track 2 brings orbital mechanics together with spatial analysis. You'll read TLEs, propagate satellites with SGP4, predict passes, and build coverage polygons. From Mauna Kea or Haleakalā at dawn, you can see the ISS pass overhead — you'll know how to compute exactly when, from the same physics. The track's tools are also the tools Pacific Disaster Center uses for damage assessment, NOAA Coral Reef Watch uses for bleaching forecasts, and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center uses to route alerts.
Capstone 2: Ground-Track Coverage Tool
Given any TLE, produce ground track + coverage + country-overflight table.
Build a Python tool that, given any TLE as input, outputs (1) the 24-hour ground track as a GeoJSON LineString with timestamped vertices, (2) a coverage polygon assuming a 1000-km swath sensor, (3) a country-overflight table listing each country overflown with total dwell time in seconds. The country mapping must use the Natural Earth admin-0 boundary dataset (provided). Visualize the ground track on a Folium map, color-coded by altitude.
Read full capstone brief →/academy/verify/{certId}/. Certificate issuance is included with LaunchDetect Gold ($9.99/month). The entire curriculum is free.