The Ground Track page displays real-time and predicted satellite positions on an interactive 3D globe or 2D map. It shows spacecraft orbital paths (ground tracks) and allows you to visualize satellite positions over time.
Route: /orbits/ground-trackPage Layout Filtering & View Controls Spacecraft Filter Filter which spacecraft trajectories are displayed on the map.
Element Description Control Multi-select dropdown with badge Default Shows all spacecraft when none selected
Actions:
Click to open popover dropdown
Check/uncheck spacecraft to display
Click Apply to confirm selection
Click Clear All to deselect all
Remove individual spacecraft via X button on badges
Scene Mode Toggle (2D / 3D) Mode Description 2D Flat map view with Web Mercator projection 3D Full 3D globe with free camera rotation
Default: 2D2D Mode Characteristics:
Flat map projection
Latitude limited to ±85° (Web Mercator constraint)
No camera tilt/rotation
Best for traditional ground track visualization
3D Mode Characteristics:
Spherical Earth globe
Full camera freedom (rotate, tilt, zoom)
Realistic lighting with day/night terminator
Required for ECI reference frame
Transition: Smooth 1-second morph animation between modes.Reference Frame Toggle (ECEF / ECI) Frame Description ECEF Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ground-relative) ECI Earth-Centered Inertial (space-fixed)
Default: ECEFECEF (Earth-Fixed):
Standard ground track view
Earth rotates with you (fixed ground reference)
Shows subsatellite point traces
Available in 2D and 3D
ECI (Inertial):
Space-fixed reference frame
Earth rotates beneath the camera
Shows true orbital path in space
Only available in 3D mode (tab disabled in 2D)
Automatically switches to ECEF when entering 2D mode
Map Style Toggle (Map / Satellite) Style Description Map Theme-aware vector map (light/dark based on system theme) Satellite Satellite imagery (photographic)
Default: MapMap Style:
Light theme: Mapbox light-v11
Dark theme: Mapbox dark-v11
Clean vector style for clear visualization
Satellite Style:
Photographic satellite imagery
Mapbox satellite-v9
Real-world terrain appearance
Resets camera to default view.
Effect:
Resets zoom to show full world extent
Centers map on 0°, 0° (Atlantic Ocean)
Resets any rotation/tilt (in 3D)
Opens/closes the charts side panel. Click to toggle the sliding panel from the right edge.
Map Visualization Satellite Icons Each spacecraft is displayed with:
Element Description Satellite icon Custom icon at current position Color Unique color per spacecraft Name label Spacecraft name to the right of icon
Label Styling:
Semi-transparent background box
Theme-aware colors (adapts to light/dark mode)
Always visible (no depth occlusion)
Orbital Paths (Ground Tracks) Past Track (Trail):
Dashed line style
Semi-transparent (70% opacity)
Shows 1 hour of past positions
Same color as spacecraft
Future Track (Lead):
Solid line style
Full opacity
Shows 1 day of predicted positions
Same color as spacecraft
Map Interaction Action 2D Mode 3D Mode Pan/Drag Click and drag to pan Click and drag to rotate globe Zoom Mouse scroll wheel / pinch gesture Mouse scroll wheel / pinch gesture Tilt Not available Right-click drag / two-finger drag
Lighting Effects The map displays realistic sun lighting with a day/night terminator that shows illuminated vs shadowed regions and moves with simulation time.
Timeline Controls Floating toolbar at bottom center of the map:
Reset to Start Jumps to the beginning of the data timeline.
Plays animation backwards.
State Behavior Normal Click to start reverse playback Active (highlighted) Currently playing in reverse, click to pause
Toggles forward playback.
Icon State Play Animation paused, click to play forward Pause Animation playing forward, click to pause
Syncs simulation to current real-world time.
State Behavior Normal Click to jump to current time Active (highlighted) Currently in real-time mode
Effect:
Jumps simulation to current system time
Continues advancing with real clock
Disables timeline slider (can’t scrub in real-time mode)
Timeline Slider Drag to scrub through the timeline. The slider moves in 0.1% increments across the full data range.
The timeline slider is disabled when in real-time mode.
Speed Selector Click to open speed selection popover.
Speed Description 0.5x Half real-time 1x Real-time 2x 2× faster 5x 5× faster 10x 10× faster 50x 50× faster 100x 100× faster 300x 300× faster (default) 1000x 1000× faster
Time Display Shows the current simulation time in Mon DD HH:MM:SS UTC format (e.g., “Nov 12 14:32:15 UTC”). Hover to see the full ISO date.
Charts Side Panel Access the charts panel by clicking the Charts button in the topbar. The panel opens on the right side of the screen.
Latitude / Longitude Chart Property Value Type Scatter/line plot X-axis Longitude (degrees) Y-axis Latitude (degrees)
Shows ground track pattern with longitude wrapping (±180°), color-coded by spacecraft.
Latitude vs Time Chart Property Value Type Time series line chart X-axis Time Y-axis Latitude (degrees)
Shows latitude variation over time, revealing orbital inclination patterns.
Longitude vs Time Chart Property Value Type Time series line chart X-axis Time Y-axis Longitude (degrees)
Shows longitude drift over time, revealing orbital period. Handles 360° wrapping discontinuities.
Chart Interactions
Hover: Shows tooltip with exact valuesEmpty State: “No data available” message with iconLoading: Skeleton placeholders while loading
Data & Time Range Default Data Range Direction Range Past 0 days (starts from now) Future 2 days ahead
Data Sampling Context Configuration Map Max 500 points per satellite Time step 10 minutes (600 seconds) Charts Max 300 points for performance
Data Caching
5-minute cache per spacecraft/time-range
Automatic deduplication of requests
Loading & Error States State Display Initial load ”Loading map…” skeleton Cesium loading Map skeleton with loading text Data loading Map skeleton until data ready Charts loading Skeleton cards in panel Spacecraft data error Red error message with details Orbit data error Red error message with details
Quick Reference Category Action Control Filter Select spacecraft Topbar dropdown View Switch 2D/3D Topbar tabs View Switch ECEF/ECI Topbar tabs View Change map style Topbar tabs View Reset camera Home button View Open/close charts Charts button Playback Reset to start Playback Play reverse Playback Play/pause forward Playback Sync to real-time Playback Scrub timeline Slider drag Playback Change speed Speed dropdown Map Pan/drag Mouse drag Map Zoom Scroll wheel Map Rotate (3D) Right-click drag Charts View coordinates Hover on chart
