PhosphorOrbit transforms your iPhone or iPad into a Cold War-era space surveillance terminal. Track every catalogued object in Earth orbit — from the International Space Station to dead Soviet satellites and the growing cloud of debris threatening our future in space — all rendered on a retro CRT phosphor radar scope.
FEATURES
- Real-time azimuth/elevation polar radar scope showing all satellites overhead
- SGP4/SDP4 orbital propagation on the AstroEngine astronomy engine shared across our sky apps, checked against the published verification set and NASA JPL’s own track of the ISS
- Object classification: space stations, payloads, Starlink, rocket bodies, debris
- Pass predictions with sky track diagrams, rise and set solved to the second — know exactly where to look
- Visible passes judged as your eye judges them: the sky dark where you stand and the satellite in sunlight at the top of its pass
- Live satellite tracking during active passes
- Ground track of the selected object on a world map centred on your longitude
- Orbital shell density histogram by altitude band
- Kessler Syndrome dashboard: debris ratios, critical bands, avoidance manoeuvre rates
- Offline resilience — cached orbital elements draw the scope at launch and keep it running without connectivity
- User watchlist for tracking specific objects
- Green and amber phosphor CRT colour themes
- Universal — runs natively on iPad in every orientation, the radar scope filling the screen and the type drawn larger to suit it
- No accounts, no tracking, no clutter
DATA SOURCE
Orbital data is provided by CelesTrak, sourced from the US Space Force 18th Space Defense Squadron. When CelesTrak cannot be reached, the app falls back to SatNOGS DB for active satellites and space stations, data under CC BY-SA 4.0. No account or subscription required.
SUPPORT
Need help with PhosphorOrbit? Whether you have a question about how the app works, want to request a feature, or need to report a problem, you can reach us through the following channels:
- Ask a question — get help with using PhosphorOrbit
- Report a bug — let us know if something isn't working
- Request a feature — suggest improvements or new functionality
We aim to respond to all support requests promptly. You can also browse existing issues to see if your question has already been answered.