*******************************I am exceptionally pleased to announce the release of the General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects, GCAT Rel 1.1.0. https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/ - a project several decades in the making.********************************
Some pointers to things in GCAT:The auxiliary satellite catalog is at https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/cat/auxcat.html
The `standard' catalog is at https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/cat/satcat.html - among other things, for each object it tells you which other object it separated from and at what time - that's all previously unpublished data
Along with the object catalogs are payload catalogs which include end-of-life dates for satellites as well as categorizing them (comms, nav, imaging, etc) https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/cat/psatcat.html
Again, things like the end-of-life data, some of which involved deep archival research, are previously unpublished. Hope the data geeks among you enjoy it!
GCAT has both a version number (1.1.0) and a data release date (2020 Aug 23). My plan is to update the version number when the docs or structure change, or for a major change in data; but inbetween I'll upload new versions of the catalogs themselves and just change release date.
Quietly replaced GCAT 1.1.0 with 1.1.1 because I forgot to document one of the columns in the catalogs. Oops. Fixed now.
This Scientist Spent Decades Cataloging 57,424 Man-Made Objects in SpaceThe General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects is the most complete catalog of satellites, spacecraft, debris, space organizations, and launches, ever compiled. Its creator, astronomer Jonathan McDowell, put it online for anyone to use, for free.By Maddie BenderAugust 25, 2020, 2:00pmA scientist and space history hobbyist has published the General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects (GCAT), an open-source database containing the most complete catalog of man-made objects in space such as satellites, spacecraft, and debris, as well as space organizations and launches. The catalog is a culmination of decades of work, and some data, like end-of-life dates for satellites, have never been published before or hosted in one place.
New release 1.2.1 of the General Catalog of Space Objects - planet4589.org/space/gcat - with a new 'C' status code for 'collided with another object' and support for 'UNK' launch designation for unknown objects (such as the one that hit the H2A adapter in Jul 2020)
The release also features some data upates, notably corrected serial numbers for Ariane 5 upper stages and added designations (and some entries) for USAF Space Test Program missions
The 'C' status code has been added for 25 objects: GGSE 2/3, STP P78-1/ASAT 3, Delta 180/PAS, DART/Mublcom, Burner IIA/deb CZ4, PLA ASAT/FY-1C, BURNT FROST/USA 193, Iridium 33/Kosmos-2251, Blits/deb FY1C, Shakhti/Microsat-R, H2A fairing/unk debris, Yunhai/deb Zenit ... and
.. Progress M-34, which hit Spektr. But I haven't added a 'C" code to Spektr itself since it remained attached to Mir and I don't have a good way of adding the additional association without losing that one - need to ponder that a bit.
Excellent work, Jonathan, but I am only missing the period/min.Volker
Latest GCAT update https://planet4589/space/gcat has improvements to the 'current catalog' https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/currentcat.html - with 'owner' and 'state' columns.
The 'owner' entries in the main catalog https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/cat/satcat.html represent the owner of the object at launch; in the 'current catalog' I try and figure out who owns the object now.