🚀 SPACEAPP v5.6 - From Tracking to Understanding

Welcome to SPACEAPP v5.6, one of the largest updates in SPACEAPP's history.

This release introduces the first official macOS build, AI-assisted mission intelligence, advanced orbital analysis tools, interactive 3D spacecraft visualization, and a redesigned research-focused workspace.

Important

macOS users must download BOTH files:

• SPACEAPP-macOS.zip
• models.zip

After extracting both archives, place the models/ folder beside SPACEAPP.app.

SPACEAPP.app
models/

The application requires the external models/ directory for spacecraft visualization features.

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🌟 Highlights

🛰️ Interactive 3D Spacecraft Visualization

Explore supported spacecraft in an immersive 3D environment while viewing live tracking and mission data.

Supported Spacecraft

• International Space Station (ISS)
• Tiangong Space Station
• James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Starlink Satellites
• GPS Satellites
• Weather Satellites
• Science Satellites

Users can inspect spacecraft structures, mission information, and orbital data within a unified interface.

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🧠 AI-Assisted Mission Intelligence

Supported spacecraft now include AI-powered mission summaries and contextual analysis.

Mission Intelligence provides:

• Mission objectives
• Scientific contributions
• Historical significance
• Technology highlights
• Operational purpose

Designed to transform technical orbital data into accessible educational content.

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🌍 Orbital Geometry Analysis

Analyze orbital characteristics beyond basic tracking information.

Available metrics include:

• Orbit classification
• Orbital inclination
• Altitude range
• Orbital period
• Ground-track behavior
• Mission-specific orbital characteristics

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📡 Coverage Radius Analysis

Visualize the estimated area a spacecraft can observe, communicate with, or serve from its current orbital position.

Features include:

• Coverage radius estimation
• Ground footprint analysis
• Visibility range calculations
• Coverage characteristic summaries

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⏳ Lifespan Analysis

Understand spacecraft longevity and operational history.

Supported information may include:

• Time spent in orbit
• Original mission duration
• Mission extensions
• Current operational phase
• Estimated service lifespan

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📚 RAG + Web Search Mission Profiles

Mission profiles are now enhanced using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) combined with web-backed research systems.

Information may include:

• Launch date
• Operator
• Country
• Mission description
• Operational status
• Days in space
• Estimated completed orbits

This enables richer and more up-to-date spacecraft information.

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🔬 Research View

A dedicated exploration mode for deeper spacecraft analysis.

Research View provides expanded access to:

• Mission profiles
• Orbital analysis
• Mission intelligence
• Lifespan assessments
• Capability overviews

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🎨 Next-Generation Workspace

SPACEAPP v5.6 introduces a redesigned desktop experience.

Improvements

• Dynamic splitter layouts
• Resizable panels
• Improved information organization
• Expanded iconography
• Enhanced visual presentation

The result is a more flexible and research-focused workspace.

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⚡ Performance & Infrastructure Improvements

Smart API Optimization

Backend telemetry systems have been optimized to reduce unnecessary API consumption while maintaining smooth tracking performance.

Benefits include:

• Reduced API usage
• Improved efficiency
• Longer monitoring sessions
• Lower network overhead

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Supabase Search Infrastructure

Satellite databases are now synchronized and indexed through Supabase.

Advantages include:

• Faster searches
• Alias-aware searching
• Improved reliability
• Background synchronization
• Scalable database support

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Expanded Tracking & Analysis

Additional improvements include:

• Enhanced TLE parsing
• Improved trajectory propagation
• Faster NORAD searches
• Better satellite catalog management
• Higher tracking precision

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🖥️ Platform Support

🪟 Windows x64

Status: Stable

The Windows release is packaged using a dedicated Inno Setup installer and is recommended for general users.

Installation

1. Download SPACEAPP-Stable-v5.6-Installer-x64.exe
2. Create a free account on N2YO
3. Obtain an API key
4. Launch the installer
5. Complete the setup wizard
6. Create your SPACEAPP account
7. Enter your API key when prompted

Tip

Once configured, your API key only needs to be entered once.

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🍎 macOS (Experimental)

Status: Experimental

SPACEAPP v5.6 introduces the first official macOS release.

Warning

The macOS build is currently experimental.

While fully functional, platform-specific issues may still exist and will be addressed throughout the v5.6.x update cycle.

Installation

1. Download SPACEAPP-macOS.zip
2. Download models.zip
3. Extract both archives
4. Place the extracted models/ folder beside SPACEAPP.app

Expected structure:

SPACEAPP.app
models/

5. Launch SPACEAPP

Important

Do not move the models/ directory inside the application bundle.

The folder must remain beside SPACEAPP.app.

Known Notes

• First public macOS release
• Future patches will improve stability and compatibility
• Packaging workflows will continue to evolve
• Community feedback is highly appreciated

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💾 Setup Requirements

Before using SPACEAPP, obtain an API key from N2YO.

First-Time Setup

1. Launch SPACEAPP
2. Create your account
3. Enter your N2YO API Key
4. Wait for SPACEAPP to finish database setup
5. Complete initialization

After setup, SPACEAPP is ready to use.

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❤️ Thank You

Thank you to everyone who has supported SPACEAPP's development.

SPACEAPP v5.6 represents a major milestone for the project, bringing advanced research, tracking, visualization, and educational tools to a broader audience across Windows and macOS.

We hope you enjoy exploring Earth orbit and beyond.

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☕ Support SPACEAPP

SPACEAPP is an independent software project developed and maintained by student developers.

If you enjoy using SPACEAPP and would like to support future development, infrastructure costs, database hosting, and new features, you can support the project here:

💛 Buy Me a Coffee

💙 Ko-fi

Every contribution helps support future updates and improvements.

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Henry Vo (Vo Tan Binh)
Creator & Lead Developer of SPACEAPP

Kelvin (Gia Khang)
macOS QA Tester

🛰️ SPACEAPP v5.5.4 – Map Reliability Patch

This is a minor stability patch for the v5.5 series.

🔧 What’s Fixed

• Resolved 403 error banner on the map caused by missing Referer headers
• Restored proper loading of OpenStreetMap tiles in production builds
• Eliminated UX loop where map would fail to display consistently

🛡️ Under the Hood

• Implemented request interceptor to inject required network headers
• Ensures compatibility with OpenStreetMap tile usage policy in embedded environments
• No changes to core logic, performance, or API handling

Fully backward compatible with existing v5.5 installs

👤 For Users

No visual changes or new features — just a smoother, more reliable map experience.
Updating to v5.5.4 ensures uninterrupted satellite tracking on the map.

🛰️ SPACEAPP v5.5.2 – Info Update Improvements

This is a minor stability patch for the v5.5 series.

🔧 What’s Improved

• Improved Info Update campaign timing logic
• Fixed edge case with cross-year recurring campaigns (e.g. Dec → Jan windows)
• Ensured campaigns trigger only once per valid time window
• Strengthened internal campaign tracking for recurring releases

🛡️ Under the Hood

Time window resolution now correctly handles cross-year campaigns
Campaigns are identified by resolved start/end window instead of current year
No changes to user configuration or stored data
Fully backward compatible with existing v5.5 installs

👤 For Users

Nothing new visually — just improved reliability behind the scenes.
If you're already on v5.5, updating to v5.5.2 ensures future seasonal and recurring info releases behave correctly.

🚀 SPACEAPP v5.5 — Stable Release Notes

SPACEAPP v5.5 is a major stability and capability upgrade focused on performance, scalability, and usability. This release builds on the solid foundation of v5.0 while introducing significant improvements to satellite search, tracking efficiency, database handling, and distribution.

All core features from v5.0 remain fully supported.

Highlights

Satellite Path Prediction

SPACEAPP v5.5 extends beyond live position tracking by enabling visualization of satellite orbital paths and review of last known positions. This provides greater context for satellite motion and supports more analytical use cases.

Advanced Sky Search (near:)

Satellite searches are no longer limited to the user’s current device location. Users may now query the sky from any location on Earth by specifying a place name or geographic coordinates.

Syntax:

near: <place or coordinates>; alt: <altitude>; radius: <0–90>; catid: <category ID>

Only the near: parameter is required. All other parameters are optional and will fall back to device defaults if omitted.

Supabase Pre-Search Pipeline

A new cloud-synced, pre-indexed satellite database significantly improves search performance and scalability.

Key benefits:

• Ultra-fast name-based satellite lookup

• Support for datasets up to 10× larger

• Improved handling of aliases, alternative names, and edge cases

• Automatic background updates with no user intervention required

• This pipeline complements the local on-device database to maintain both speed and offline reliability.

Smart API Reduction

• API usage has been further optimized to reduce unnecessary calls without compromising usability.

• Non-Starlink satellites (MEO/GEO) are now updated every other polling cycle

• Results in an average API call reduction of approximately 25%, depending on tracked satellite composition

• Optimization applies automatically across both API modes

This improves efficiency, lowers bandwidth usage, and helps users stay within API limits.

Check Info (GitHub Notifications)

SPACEAPP now connects to a GitHub-hosted information endpoint to deliver:

• Important notices

• User surveys

• New release notifications

• Messages appear occasionally within the app and do not interrupt normal usage.

Dedicated x64 Installer

SPACEAPP now ships with a full-featured x64 installer rather than a compressed executable package.

Benefits include:

• Custom installation paths

• Cleaner system integration

• Safer upgrades and uninstalls

• Improved long-term maintainability

This installer replaces the previous ZIP-based distribution method.

Core Features (Unchanged from v5.0)

Curated satellite database (~800 satellites) across five categories:

• Special

• Starlink

• Science

• Weather

• GPS

• One-click satellite details from curated lists

• Manual NORAD ID lookup for satellites outside curated sets

• Dual API modes to balance refresh speed and efficiency

• Name-based satellite search

• In-app tooltips explaining technical fields

Database Architecture

Cloud Database (Supabase)

• Pre-indexed and continuously updated

• Supports large-scale name-based searches

• Handles renames, decayed satellites, and metadata changes automatically

Local Database (On-Device)

• Provides offline access and core functionality

• Periodic update prompts ensure accuracy

• Updates are optional but recommended

Important:
Interrupting database updates (e.g., force-closing the app) may corrupt local data and require reinstallation.

Location Handling

Device location is estimated via IP address

VPN usage may result in inaccurate positioning

Location data is cached per session; restarting the app refreshes it

API Modes and Polling Optimization

SPACEAPP v5.5 introduces intelligent polling behavior based on satellite type and selection composition. Efficient Mode prioritizes reduced API usage, while Non-Efficient Mode prioritizes responsiveness.

Non-Starlink satellites automatically skip alternate polling cycles, significantly reducing API load in mixed or non-LEO scenarios.

Recommendations

• Use Efficient Mode for regular usage and long sessions

• Use Non-Efficient Mode for short, high-refresh sessions

• Keep the satellite database updated when prompted

• Prefer curated satellite categories for best reliability

Privacy

SPACEAPP accesses only public satellite data sources. No personal data is collected beyond what is necessary for normal application operation.

Credits

Vo Tan Binh (Henry Vo)
Original and sole developer of SPACEAPP

License

© Vo Tan Binh. All rights reserved.
Unauthorized redistribution or reuse of software assets, data, or code is prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the author.

SPACEAPP v5.5 represents a significant step forward in reliability, scalability, and analytical capability, while remaining accessible and lightweight for educational and exploratory use.

🚀 SPACEAPP v5.0 – Interstellar Release

🚀 SPACEAPP v5.0 – Interstellar Release

The most stable and globally-ready version yet.
SPACEAPP v5.0 marks a huge leap forward — built for precision, reliability, and performance at planetary scale.

✨ Highlights

International-grade stability: Engine re-architected for consistent performance across all regions and networks.

Enhanced Location System: Smarter, faster IP-based geolocation with accurate caching and auto-refresh logic.

Optimized Core: Faster load times, reduced memory footprint, and better background efficiency.

Foundation for the Future: v5.0 sets the new technical standard for all upcoming versions — clean, stable, and built to scale.

🌍 Recommended for All Users

v5.0 is the most reliable and recommended release to date.
If you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to update — this is it.

“Stable. Seamless. Space-ready.” 🌌

🚀 SPACEAPP v5.0-beta-5 - Release Notes

SPACEAPP v5.0-beta-5 builds on v5.0-beta-1 with notable improvements in performance, database architecture, and installation flow.
This release focuses on scalability, global search capability, and more efficient API usage, while preserving the core experience introduced in v5.0.

⭐ What’s New
🔔 1. GitHub Check-Info System

SPACEAPP now connects securely to GitHub to provide in-app notifications for:

New releases

Important announcements

Occasional surveys

Notifications are designed to be minimal and relevant, without interrupting normal usage.

🌍 2. near: Advanced Global Sky Search

Satellite search is no longer limited to the device’s physical location.

Users can scan the sky from any location on Earth using place names or coordinates.

Example syntax:

near: Tokyo; alt: 30; radius: 45; catid: 3

near: accepts place names or coordinates

alt, radius, and catid are optional

If omitted, default device values are used

This enables flexible sky analysis across different geographic locations.

🧠 3. Supabase Pre-Search Pipeline

Satellite data is now processed through a Supabase-based pre-search pipeline.

Key changes include:

Pre-indexed satellite records

Cloud-synchronized metadata

Optimized name-based search

This architecture supports:

Significantly faster search performance

Databases up to 10× larger

Improved handling of aliases and real-world naming inconsistencies

📡 4. Smarter API Reduction

API usage optimization has been refined across both API modes.

Non-Starlink (MEO/GEO) satellites update every other interval

Applies to both Efficient and Non-Efficient modes

Reduces API calls by approximately 25–50%, depending on satellite mix

Starlink satellites continue updating at full frequency, while non-Starlink objects use adaptive reduction logic.

📦 5. New x64 Installer (Custom Setup)

SPACEAPP now ships with a dedicated x64 installer, replacing the previous ZIP + EXE distribution.

The installer supports:

Custom installation paths

Feature selection

Cleaner update handling

Safer first-run setup

This improves reliability and long-term maintainability.

🔍 Core Features

~800 curated satellites across:

Special, Starlink, Science, Weather, GPS

One-click access to live satellite data

Manual NORAD ID lookup for non-curated satellites

Two API modes (Efficient and Non-Efficient)

Name-based satellite lookup

All core features from v5.0-beta-1 remain available, with improved performance and stability.

🛠️ Improvements & Stability

Faster search response times

More reliable local and cloud database synchronization

Improved first-run detection and API key onboarding

Better handling of:

Network interruptions

Low-bandwidth conditions

Update interruptions

Clearer tooltips and in-app field explanations

🧠 Database System

Cloud Database (Supabase)

Pre-indexed and continuously updated

Optimized for large-scale name search

Local Database (On-device)

Supports offline access

Periodic update prompts

Improved update safety mechanisms

Users are advised not to interrupt the application during initial setup or database updates.

💡 Recommended Usage

Use Efficient Mode for regular usage and reduced API consumption

Use Non-Efficient Mode for short sessions requiring faster updates

Restart the app after significant location changes

Keep the satellite database updated when prompted

Review GitHub messages when shown, as they may contain important information

👤 Credits

Developed by Vo Tan Binh (Henry Vo)
Design, architecture, backend logic, UI, database systems, and satellite processing implemented end-to-end.

SPACEAPP v5.0-beta-5
A more scalable, efficient, and globally capable iteration of the v5.0 series.

🚀 SPACEAPP v5.0-beta-1 — Release Notes

SPACEAPP v5.0-beta-1 lands with a bunch of QoL upgrades, smarter performance logic, and a new global search tool that makes satellite tracking feel way more powerful (and way less spammy on your API key).

⭐ What’s New
🔔 1. GitHub Check-Info System

The app now quietly pings the GitHub server to let you know about:

new releases

important announcements

quick surveys
No more missing updates — SPACEAPP slides into your DMs responsibly.

📡 2. Smart API Reduction (Major)

Big W for efficiency.

Non-Starlink satellites (MEO/GEO) now auto-update every other interval, cutting API usage by ~25% or more depending on your mix.

Starlink still refreshes normally

MEO/GEO sats now chill every second cycle

Mixed categories follow adaptive reduction logic

Result: same experience, fewer API calls, less stress on your key.

🌍 3. New “near:” Search Command

You’re no longer tied to your device location.

Run queries like:

near: ; alt: ; radius: <0–90>; catid:

And SPACEAPP instantly returns satellites for any location on Earth.
Other parameters are optional — skip them if you want, the app defaults to your device profile.

Sky-scanning just went global.

🔧 Improvements & Tweaks

More predictable behavior in both Efficient and Non-efficient API modes.

Cleaner category navigation and satellite detail fetching.

Smoother onboarding: auto-detects first-run and guides API Key setup.

More reliable location caching (with a VPN warning so users don’t get cooked by IP-based geo quirks).

Better stability during satellite database updates and first-run initialization.

🗃️ Satellite Database

~800 curated satellites across Special, Starlink, Science, Weather, GPS categories.

Auto-update prompts now smarter and more consistent.

Manual NORAD ID search still available for satellites outside the curated list.

🛠️ Fixes

Improved fallback logic during bad inputs or update interruptions.

More stable handling of network errors and low-bandwidth scenarios.

Reduced chances of local data corruption during first-run or DB update.

💡 Recommended Usage

Use Efficient Mode for saving API quota and daily browsing.

Switch to Non-efficient when you want rapid updates.

Restart app if you change locations significantly.

Keep the database updated whenever prompted.

👤 Credits

Developed solely by Vo Tan Binh (Henry Vo).
Full-stack logic, UI, backend, satellite curation — all handcrafted.

🌟 GitHub Release Post for v4.2

Release: v4.2 – Stability & Performance Enhancement

This is our recommended stable build of the app. It includes everything from v4.0, plus improvements in setup and overall performance.

🔑 Key Features

All features from v4.0:

Multi-satellite tracking

Smooth movement & selection animation

Compact/expanded map toggle

Dual API modes (efficient & non-efficient)

Multi-account login support

One-file plug-and-play with N2YO API key stored after first registration

New in v4.2:

Automatic desktop shortcut creation (with user consent) for easier access.

Further refinements to performance and reliability.

📦 Package

Closed-source

One-file executable

Recommended build for all new users

🚀 GitHub Release Post for v4.0

Release: v4.0 – Multi-Satellite Tracking Upgrade

We are excited to announce the release of v4.0!
This version introduces major improvements in performance, user experience, and satellite tracking.

🔑 Key Features

Multi-Satellite Tracking – monitor more than one satellite simultaneously with smooth performance.

Enhanced Map Controls – toggle between compact and full-size map modes for more details or wider coverage.

Improved Animation – satellites now move smoothly and naturally across the map for a better visualization experience.

Dual API Modes :

Efficient mode: ~8s per call (lower load, stable performance).

Non-efficient mode: ~3s per call (faster refresh rate, higher usage).

Multi-Account Support – switch between accounts easily with username and password.

One-File Plug-and-Play – simply download, register your N2YO
API key once at sign-up, and you’re ready to go. No re-entering your API key every time.

📦 Package

Closed-source

One-file executable

Ready to run, no extra setup required

🚀 SPACEAPP v3.0 – Multi-Account, One-File Release

Just one .exe. No README. No setup. Unzip and run.

✨ What’s New in v3.0

🔑 Multi-API Key Support – Save unlimited API keys in userdata.json, each tied to its own account.

📝 Built-In Registration – Sign up and add your API key directly inside the app, no config files required.

🔄 Instant Account Switching – Log out anytime and log in with a different API key.

👀 On-Screen Key Display – See your active API key right in the main window for full transparency.

⚡ Zero Hassle – One file, one click. No instructions needed, no hidden steps.

💡 Why it matters:
SPACEAPP v3.0 is designed for quick demos, classroom use, and multi-user setups. It’s simpler for beginners and more flexible for power users — all in a single executable.