Chapter 1 — Getting Started

1.1 What is SAT-TRACK?

SAT-TRACK is a real-time satellite tracking system integrated into AlienAlerts.com. It tracks 2,000+ satellites across 23 curated groups using live orbital data (TLEs) from SatNOGS. It is designed for UAP research, citizen intelligence, amateur astronomy, and general satellite awareness.

Satellites are propagated using the SGP4 algorithm — the same standard used by NORAD and space agencies worldwide. All data is publicly available and legal to display.

1.2 Setting Your Observer Location

The observer location is the point on Earth from which you are watching. All azimuth, elevation, and visibility calculations are relative to this location. The default is the Washington Monument, Washington DC (38.8895°N, 77.0353°W).

Four ways to set your observer:

• PICK LOCATION button — click the amber flashing button above the map, then click anywhere on the map. The button turns green when a location is set.
• LCT button (orange, on keypad) — guided coordinate entry. Press LCT, type latitude, press ENT, type longitude, press ENT. Pin moves to that location.
• GPS button (keypad) — requests your device location and displays it in the DEV row of the LCD. Does NOT move the pin automatically. Press USE DEV to move the pin to your device location.
• USE DEV button (keypad) — moves the observer pin to your device GPS coordinates. GPS must be activated first.

1.3 Loading Satellite Groups

Satellites are organized into 23 groups across 6 tabs in the rolodex panel below the keypad. On load, the UAP Watch group (G23) is automatically loaded. To load other groups, click a tab (SPC, WX, SCI, MIL, COM, UAP) and use the arrow buttons to flip through groups within that tab. Click ADD ALL to load all satellites in the current group, or check individual satellites.

Maximum 30 satellites can be active at one time. The counter (e.g. 15/30) shows how many are currently active. Click CLEAR to remove all active satellites from the map.

1.4 Reading the Map

Each active satellite appears as a colored dot on the map with its name displayed in a dark label pill. Colors correspond to the satellite group — space stations are teal, weather satellites are blue, military are red, UAP watch satellites are purple, etc.

Satellites above your horizon (VISIBLE) are shown with full brightness. Satellites below the horizon are shown dimmer. The observer location is marked with a pin on the map.

Chapter 2 — The Console

2.1 LCD Display

The green LCD screen at the top of the left panel is the mission control display. It shows the following rows:

• OBS — Current observer coordinates (lat/lng)
• MSG — Status messages and system feedback
• TRK — Number of satellites tracked and visible
• UTC — Universal Coordinated Time (same worldwide)
• LOC — Your local browser time with timezone abbreviation
• LST — Local Sidereal Time at the observer longitude (astronomy time)
• DEV — Your device GPS coordinates (gray, only shown after GPS is activated)
• INP — Current keypad input buffer showing mode and typed characters

2.2 Mode Selector

Five mode buttons sit below the LCD. The active mode determines what the numpad does:

• LOC — Location mode. Type coordinates or a place name, press ENT to geocode and move the observer.
• GRP — Group mode. Number keys 1-9 toggle satellite groups G01-G09.
• SCAN — Scan mode. Type a radius in km, press ENT to run an immediate scan.
• CALC — Calculator mode. Basic arithmetic on the LCD display.
• TIME — Time mode. Type an hour offset (e.g. 4), press ENT to jump time forward that many hours for snapshot tracking.

2.3 Numpad Keys Reference

• 0-9 — Number input for current mode
• . — Decimal point
• +/- — Toggle positive/negative (for south lat or west lng)
• CLR — Clear current input buffer
• DEL ← — Delete last character
• ENT — Execute current input in active mode
• N/S — Toggle latitude north/south
• GPS — Activate device geolocation (fills DEV row, no pin move)
• USE DEV — Move observer pin to device GPS location

2.4 LCT — Guided Coordinate Entry

Press the orange LCT button to enter coordinates step by step. The LCD prompts you for latitude first, then longitude. Type each value using the numpad and press ENT after each. Use +/- for negative values (south latitude or west longitude). The observer pin and map center will update automatically when both are entered.

2.5 DIR — Bearing and Distance

Press the orange DIR button to measure the bearing and distance from your observer to any point on the map. After pressing DIR, click anywhere on the map. The LCD will display the bearing in degrees (0-360°), cardinal direction (N/NE/E/SE/S/SW/W/NW), and the ground distance in kilometers.

2.6 CTR — Center Map

Press CTR to instantly re-center the map on your current observer location. Useful after panning the map far away. The LCD confirms CENTERED ON OBSERVER.

2.7 GPS — Device Location

Press GPS to request your device's location. Your browser will ask for permission the first time. Once granted, your coordinates appear in the DEV row of the LCD in gray. This does NOT move the observer pin. Press USE DEV to move the pin to your device location. This separation allows you to track satellites over a different location while still knowing where you physically are.

Chapter 3 — Satellite Groups

3.1 The Rolodex Tabs

The rolodex sits below the keypad and organizes all 23 satellite groups into 6 tabs:

• SPC — Space: G01 Space Stations, G05 Amateur Radio, G22 Heritage
• WX — Weather: G02 US NOAA, G03 European, G04 GEO Belt
• SCI — Science: G06-G08 Earth Observation, G09-G11 Navigation (GPS/GLONASS/Galileo)
• MIL — Military: G15 US Gov, G16-G17 US Military LEO/GEO, G18-G20 Foreign Intel
• COM — Commercial: G12-G13 Starlink, G14 GEO Comms, G21 Debris
• UAP — UAP Watch: G23 Bright LEO satellites most often associated with UAP reports

3.2 Loading a Group

Click a tab to switch to that category. Use the ◀ ▶ arrow buttons to flip between groups within the tab. The group name appears in the flip bar. The satellite list populates automatically — the LCD shows LOADING... while TLE data is fetched from the server. Once loaded, the list shows all satellites in that group with checkboxes.

3.3 ADD ALL and CLEAR

ADD ALL adds every satellite in the current group to the active tracking set, up to the 30 satellite limit. If adding all would exceed 30, satellites are added until the limit is reached and the LCD shows how many were skipped. CLEAR removes all active satellites across all groups — the map clears instantly.

3.4 The 30 Satellite Limit

A maximum of 30 satellites can be actively tracked at once. This prevents performance issues on slower devices. The counter (e.g. 12/30) shows current usage. The counter turns amber above 24 satellites and red at 30. To track a different group, click CLEAR first or uncheck individual satellites.

3.5 Group Descriptions

• G01 Space Stations — ISS (ZARYA) and CSS (Tianhe-1). The most watched objects in low Earth orbit. Both visible to naked eye.
• G02 Weather US — NOAA 15/18/19, GOES 16/17/18, MetOp series. Used by US weather services.
• G03 Weather European — MeteoSat, MetOp European operations, Eutelsat weather payloads.
• G04 Weather GEO — Geostationary weather satellites. These appear nearly stationary over the equator.
• G05 Amateur Radio — AMSAT satellites. AO-7 (launched 1974 — still operating!), SO-50, AO-91, and others used by ham radio operators worldwide.
• G06-G07 Earth Observation — Landsat 8/9, Sentinel series. High-resolution imaging satellites used for environmental monitoring.
• G08 Science/Climate — AQUA, NPP, NOAA-20. Carry instruments measuring atmospheric composition, sea surface temperature, ice coverage.
• G09 GPS — US Global Positioning System satellites. MEO orbit at ~20,200km. Their signals power navigation on Earth.
• G10 GLONASS — Russian navigation constellation. Similar orbit to GPS. Russia maintains 24 operational satellites.
• G11 Galileo — European navigation system. More accurate than GPS in some conditions. Fully operational since 2016.
• G12-G13 Starlink — SpaceX broadband internet satellites in two orbital shells. Most frequently reported as UAP due to train formations at dawn/dusk.
• G14 GEO Comms — Commercial geostationary communication satellites. GOES 16, Intelsat, SES birds. Appear stationary.
• G15 US Government — NASA, NOAA, and other civilian US government satellites.
• G16 US Military LEO — Unclassified US military satellites in low Earth orbit. Includes surveillance and communications birds with published TLEs.
• G17 US Military GEO — US military geostationary assets. WGS (Wideband Global SATCOM) and DSP missile warning satellites.
• G18 Russian Cosmos — Russian military and intelligence satellites designated COSMOS. Many are reconnaissance platforms.
• G19 Chinese Intel — Chinese Yaogan series and other Chinese government/military satellites with published TLEs.
• G20 Foreign Nations — Intelligence and government satellites from other nations including France, Israel, India, and others.
• G21 Debris — Tracked debris objects including historic rocket bodies and defunct satellites. Vanguard 1 (1958) is the oldest man-made object still in orbit.
• G22 Heritage — Historic satellites. Vanguard 1, Explorer 7, early OSCAR amateur satellites.
• G23 UAP Watch — Curated selection of satellites most frequently cross-referenced with UAP reports: ISS, CSS, NOAA series, Landsat, AQUA, and bright LEO objects.

Chapter 4 — The Map

4.1 Map Layers

Five map tile layers are available via the buttons above the map:

• STREET — OpenStreetMap standard street map. Best for identifying ground locations.
• SATELLITE — ArcGIS satellite imagery. Best for visual terrain reference.
• TERRAIN — OpenTopoMap topographic. Best for elevation context.
• DARK — Carto dark basemap. Automatically selected when dark mode is activated. Best for nighttime use and satellite visibility.
• LIGHT — Carto light basemap. Clean minimal map for daytime use.

4.2 Satellite Dots and Colors

Each active satellite is rendered as a colored dot on the map. Colors indicate the group:

• Teal — Space Stations (G01)
• Blue shades — Weather satellites (G02-G04)
• Amber — Amateur Radio (G05)
• Orange — Earth Observation (G06-G08)
• Green shades — Navigation (G09-G11)
• Gray shades — Starlink and Comms (G12-G14)
• Pink/Red — US Government and Military (G15-G17)
• Orange/Yellow — Foreign Intel (G18-G20)
• Brown/Stone — Debris and Heritage (G21-G22)
• Purple — UAP Watch (G23)

4.3 Reading Satellite Labels

Each satellite dot has a name label displayed in a dark pill background for readability on any map type. The label color matches the group color. Satellites currently above your horizon are shown in full group color. Satellites below the horizon are shown in gray.

4.4 Pick Location

The PICK LOCATION button floats above the map. It has three states:

• Amber pulsing — Ready to use, no location set yet
• Yellow steady — Active, waiting for you to click the map
• Green steady — Location confirmed and set

4.5 Zoom Scale

The zoom scale indicator (Z: number and bar) appears next to the Pick Location button. It shows the current Leaflet zoom level (2-18) and a proportional bar. Zoom 2 shows the whole world. Zoom 10 shows a city. Zoom 18 shows individual buildings. Use the +/- buttons on the map or scroll wheel to zoom.

Chapter 5 — Radius Scan

Requires scan permission. Anonymous users will see a login prompt.

5.1 What Scan Does

The Radius Scan calculates the position of all loaded satellites at a given time and returns those within a specified distance of your observer location. Results are sorted by distance, closest first. A blue circle is drawn on the map showing the scan radius. This is a powerful tool for cross-referencing UAP sightings with satellite passes.

5.2 Setting Radius

Use the slider in the Scan panel to set the radius from 50km to 5,000km. Alternatively, enter SCAN mode on the keypad, type the radius in km, and press ENT — the scan runs immediately and the scan panel opens with results.

5.3 Scan Modes

• NOW — Scan at the current moment. Shows what is overhead right now.
• +1 HR — Scan 1 hour from now. Shows what will be overhead in 1 hour.
• +4 HR — Scan 4 hours from now.
• +24 HR — Scan 24 hours from now. Plan for tomorrow.
• PICK TIME — Enter a specific date and time. Enter the exact moment of a UAP sighting to see what satellites were overhead.

5.4 Reading Results

Results show for each satellite within the radius:

• Name — Satellite name with group color dot
• El — Elevation above horizon in degrees. 90° is directly overhead. 0° is on the horizon. Negative means below horizon.
• Distance — Ground distance from observer in km
• VISIBLE / below hzn — Whether the satellite is above your horizon

5.5 UAP Cross-Reference Use Case

If a UAP sighting occurs at a specific time and location: (1) Set observer to the sighting location using LCT or PICK. (2) Open Scan, select PICK TIME, enter the sighting date/time. (3) Set radius to 2000-5000km. (4) Run scan. Results show every tracked satellite that was within range at that moment, with elevation angles. A satellite at 70°+ elevation directly overhead is a strong cross-reference candidate.

Chapter 6 — Proximity Alarm

Requires alarm permission. Anonymous users will see a login prompt.

6.1 What the Alarm Does

The Proximity Alarm monitors all loaded satellites every 10 seconds. When any satellite enters your specified radius around the observer location, it triggers a notification. This is a continuous real-time watch — useful for monitoring when specific satellites will pass over a location of interest.

6.2 Alarm Radius

Set the alarm radius from 50km to 5,000km using the slider. A tighter radius (200-500km) gives higher-confidence alerts for satellites actually visible overhead. A wider radius (1000-3000km) gives advance notice of approaching satellites.

6.3 Advance Warning

Four warning modes:

• ON ENTRY — Alert fires the moment a satellite enters the radius
• 1 HR — Alert fires when a satellite will enter the radius within 1 hour
• 2 HR — Alert fires 2 hours before entry
• 4 HR — Alert fires 4 hours before entry — maximum advance planning

6.4 Browser Notifications

Check the Browser alert checkbox to receive system notifications. Your browser will ask for permission the first time. Notifications appear even if the SAT-TRACK window is in the background. The notification shows the satellite name, distance, and elevation.

6.5 Email Alerts

Check the Email checkbox and enter an email address to receive email alerts. Requires email alarm permission on your account. Emails include satellite name, group, distance, elevation, time, and observer location. Rate limited to 1 email per satellite per 5 minutes to prevent spam.

6.6 Monitor Groups

Three monitoring scopes:

• ALL LOADED — Monitor every satellite currently loaded in any group
• SELECTED ONLY — Monitor only satellites currently checked/active
• UAP WATCH — Monitor only G23 UAP Watch satellites

6.7 Alarm Log

The alarm log in the panel records every trigger event with timestamp, satellite name, and distance. New entries appear at the top highlighted in red. The log persists until the alarm is stopped.

Chapter 7 — Telemetry

7.1 Opening Telemetry

Click the TELEMETRY button in the top bar. The button shows the count of currently tracked satellites (e.g. TELEMETRY (15)). The popup opens showing a card for each active satellite. The popup can be left open — it updates every 4 seconds automatically.

7.2 Reading Satellite Data

Each telemetry card shows:

• Name — Satellite name in group color
• Lat/Lng — Current geographic position (sub-satellite point)
• Alt — Altitude above Earth surface in km
• Az/El — Azimuth and Elevation from your observer location
• Range — Slant range (straight-line distance) from observer in km
• VISIBLE / BELOW HZN — Visibility status badge

7.3 Azimuth and Elevation Explained

Azimuth is the compass bearing to the satellite measured clockwise from North. 0° = North, 90° = East, 180° = South, 270° = West.

Elevation is the angle above the horizon. 0° = on the horizon. 90° = directly overhead (zenith). Negative elevation means the satellite is below your horizon — it cannot be seen but is still tracked for future passes.

7.4 VISIBLE vs BELOW HZN

A satellite is VISIBLE when its elevation is above 0° from your observer location. Note that optical visibility also depends on lighting conditions — a satellite is visually visible to the naked eye when it is in sunlight but you are in darkness (typically 30-90 minutes after sunset or before sunrise). The VISIBLE badge indicates geometric visibility only, not optical visibility.

Chapter 8 — Time Display

8.1 UTC Time

Universal Coordinated Time is the global standard time reference. All satellite TLE data uses UTC epochs. SAT-TRACK always displays UTC so you can correlate satellite positions with official orbital data. UTC does not observe daylight saving time.

8.2 Local Time

Your browser's local time is displayed with the timezone abbreviation (e.g. MDT, EST, JST). This is automatically detected from your device settings. It updates every second alongside UTC.

8.3 Local Sidereal Time (LST)

Local Sidereal Time is an astronomical time measure that indicates which part of the celestial sphere is currently overhead. LST is calculated from the current UTC time and your observer's longitude using the standard Greenwich Mean Sidereal Time formula.

LST is valuable for:

• Telescope alignment — knowing which right ascension is on the meridian
• UAP report correlation — cross-referencing with astronomical databases that use sidereal coordinates
• Radio astronomy — knowing which part of the galaxy is overhead
• Satellite pass prediction — sidereal time relates to orbital plane crossings

LST updates every second and recalculates automatically when you change the observer location, since it depends on longitude.

8.4 Device Location Row

The DEV row shows your physical device coordinates after you press the GPS button. It remains grayed out until GPS is activated. DEV coordinates never control the observer pin unless you press USE DEV. This lets you watch satellites over any location while still knowing where you are.

Chapter 9 — UAP Report

9.1 Filing a Report

Click the UAP REPORT button in the top bar (red button) to open the report form. Fill in the date/time of the sighting, your location, a description of what was observed, and any additional details. When submitted, the system automatically computes which satellites were overhead at the exact reported time and location.

9.2 Auto Satellite Snapshot

On report submission, SAT-TRACK runs an automatic scan at the reported sighting time and location. All satellites within 5,000km are computed and attached to the report as a JSON snapshot. This provides immediate cross-reference data for researchers reviewing the report. The snapshot includes satellite names, positions, elevation angles, distances, and Local Sidereal Time at the sighting moment.

9.3 Snapshot Export

Click the CAPTURE button (camera icon) in the top bar to manually capture a snapshot of current tracking state. Three export formats:

• SAVE JPG — Screenshot of the current map with satellite positions
• SAVE PDF — Formatted report with satellite telemetry table and map image
• EXPORT JSON — Raw data file with all satellite positions, timestamps, observer coordinates, UTC time, and Local Sidereal Time. Machine-readable format for researchers.

Chapter 10 — Permissions

10.1 Anonymous Access

Users who are not logged in can view the satellite tracker, load all 23 satellite groups, see satellite positions on the map, and view telemetry. The map, rolodex, telemetry popup, and UAP report are all publicly accessible.

10.2 Scan Permission

The Radius Scan function requires the "satellite tracker scan" permission. When an anonymous or unpermissioned user clicks SCAN, a login prompt appears. Contact an administrator or register an account to request scan access.

10.3 Alarm Permission

The Proximity Alarm requires the "satellite tracker alarm" permission. Email alerts additionally require the "satellite tracker alarm email" permission. Both are restricted to authorized users to prevent abuse of notification systems.

10.4 Custom Sets

Saving and loading custom satellite sets requires the "satellite tracker custom sets" permission. The SETS button will show a login prompt for unauthorized users.

10.5 Admin Access

Users with the "administer satellite tracker" permission have full access to all features. Admins can also access the configuration page at /admin/config/satellite-tracker to set default observer location, TLE cache duration, and feed URLs.

Chapter 11 — Secret Codes

Type any of these codes on the numpad and press ENT to activate. Works in any mode.

CODE	ACTION
711	Open this operator manual
000	Close this manual
411	Quick reference card (key commands summary)
911	Instant UAP report — opens form immediately
311	About SAT-TRACK — version and credits
611	Keyboard shortcuts reference
511	Satellite group guide
211	Scan and alarm quick guide
123	Reset observer to Washington Monument (default)
456	Toggle dark/light mode
789	Clear all satellites from map
999	Load UAP Watch group (G23) — emergency default
100	Set scan radius to 1000km and run scan
500	Set scan radius to 5000km (maximum) and run scan

Chapter 12 — Quick Reference

KEYPAD BUTTONS
LCT (orange)	Guided lat/lng entry → moves pin
DIR (orange)	Click map → bearing and distance on LCD
CTR	Re-center map on observer
GPS	Get device location → shows in DEV row
USE DEV	Move pin to device GPS location
ENT	Execute current input
CLR	Clear input buffer
DEL ←	Delete last character

TOP BAR BUTTONS
LIVE	Real-time tracking mode
SNAPSHOT	Freeze time for historical tracking
DARK/LIGHT	Toggle dark/light theme
TELEMETRY	Open satellite data popup
SCAN	Radius scan (permission required)
ALARM	Proximity alarm (permission required)
SETS	Custom satellite sets (permission required)
CAPTURE	Snapshot → JPG/PDF/JSON export
UAP REPORT	File a UAP sighting report

ROLODEX TABS
SPC	Space Stations, Amateur Radio, Heritage (G01,G05,G22)
WX	Weather — US, European, GEO (G02,G03,G04)
SCI	Earth Obs, Navigation GPS/GLONASS/Galileo (G06-G11)
MIL	US Gov, US Military, Foreign Intel (G15-G20)
COM	Starlink, GEO Comms, Debris (G12-G14,G21)
UAP	UAP Watch — curated bright LEO (G23)

LCD DISPLAY ROWS
OBS	Observer coordinates
MSG	Status and feedback messages
TRK	Satellites tracked / visible count
UTC	Universal Coordinated Time
LOC	Browser local time + timezone
LST	Local Sidereal Time at observer longitude
DEV	Device GPS coordinates (after GPS pressed)
INP	Keypad input buffer