Orbitin

Orbitin is a software framework and data standard designed to support the management of satellite orbits and related orbital assets. It provides a common representation for orbital elements, ephemerides, telemetry, and mission metadata, intended to facilitate data sharing across ground stations, mission control centers, and analytics platforms.

Developed by an international community of space operators, researchers, and vendors, Orbitin emphasizes modularity and extensibility. The architecture typically includes a core engine for orbital propagation and event handling, an API layer for programmatic access (such as REST or message-oriented interfaces), and a set of plug-ins for data sources, sensors, and ground assets. It supports both real-time operation and offline simulation.

Data model: It defines standard constructs for orbital parameters (including classical Keplerian elements and mean motion), state vectors, time stamps, attitude data, health and safety telemetry, and mission context. The framework aims to maintain provenance and versioning, enabling reproducibility of analyses.

Applications: Orbitin is used in satellite operations centers, mission planning, and space traffic management. Researchers employ it for trajectory analysis, collision avoidance studies, and orbital debris modeling. The framework also serves educational purposes by exposing orbital mechanics in a structured, programmable form.

Governance and licensing: Orbitin is typically released under an open license with an international governance model to ensure interoperability and long-term maintenance. Contributions come from a diverse set of stakeholders, and the standard evolves through public forums and working groups. See also: orbital mechanics, space domain awareness.