Home About Data Tonight's Sky Launch Calendar Eclipse Tools Live View

Export formats

Applies to Orbit Visualizer v1.1 · Updated

The Orbit Visualizer's Export button writes ephemeris for any object: CSV (time-stamped position and velocity) is free; CCSDS OEM 2.0 and CZML are Pro. You can also capture a PNG of the 3D view and of the ground-track map. Every export samples in the J2000 (EME2000) frame and carries the propagator's honesty disclaimer.

Opening the export dialog

Click Export in the sidebar footer. Pick an Object, a Format, a Span (hours) (default 24) and a Step (s) (default 60), then click Download. The Images section holds the Capture 3D view PNG button.

▶ Load the ISS, then open Export

CSV ephemeris (free)

CSV is a plain time/position/velocity table with commented header lines that name the frame, time system, and propagator. States are in the J2000 (EME2000) frame; positions are in kilometres (6 decimals) and velocities in km/s (9 decimals). The header looks like this:

# ExoAtlas Orbit Visualizer ephemeris
# frame: EME2000 (J2000)
# native_frame: TEME (SGP4)
# time_system: UTC
# propagator: sgp4
# SGP4/SDP4 (Vallado reference algorithm). Operational TLE propagation; accuracy degrades with TLE age (≈1–3 km at epoch, growing per day).
utc_iso,rx_km,ry_km,rz_km,vx_kms,vy_kms,vz_kms

The # native_frame: TEME (SGP4) line appears only for SGP4 objects, noting the model's native frame before conversion. The last comment line is the exact per-propagator disclaimer, so the file is self-documenting about model limits.

CCSDS OEM 2.0 (Pro)

The Orbit Ephemeris Message is the standards-compliant text format flight-dynamics tools ingest. The metadata block states the object, center body, frame, and time system:

CCSDS_OEM_VERS = 2.0
ORIGINATOR     = EXOATLAS
OBJECT_NAME    = ISS (ZARYA)
OBJECT_ID      = 25544
CENTER_NAME    = EARTH
REF_FRAME      = EME2000
TIME_SYSTEM    = UTC
COMMENT propagator: sgp4. SGP4/SDP4 (Vallado reference algorithm)…

OBJECT_ID is the NORAD catalog number for TLE objects (otherwise CUSTOM). REF_FRAME = EME2000 is truthful because every state — including SGP4, which propagates natively in TEME — is converted to the J2000 frame before it is written. See time & reference frames for the TEME→J2000 conversion.

CZML (Pro)

CZML is the time-dynamic format used by CesiumJS globes. The Orbit Visualizer writes positions in metres in the INERTIAL reference frame, with an epoch-relative Cartesian track, Lagrange interpolation, and a document clock — drop it into a Cesium viewer to replay the orbit.

PNG captures

Two raster exports are available, one per canvas:

  • Capture 3D view PNG — in the Export dialog's Images section, saves the current 3D scene.
  • Save Ground Track PNG — on the Analysis panel's Ground Track tab, saves the 2D map.

Accuracy & model notes

Exports carry the same honesty as the app: an SGP4 CSV/OEM is genuinely useful ephemeris, but SGP4 accuracy is bounded by TLE age (≈1–3 km at epoch, growing per day), while J2 and two-body exports are for geometry and study, not operational prediction. The exact per-model wording is embedded in each file. See the validation page for the measured accuracy figures.

Mini-FAQ

Why is REF_FRAME EME2000 even for TLE objects?

SGP4 propagates in the TEME frame, but the app converts every sampled state to J2000 (EME2000) before writing the file, so labelling the output EME2000 is accurate. The CSV header additionally records native_frame: TEME (SGP4) for transparency.

How long a span can I export?

CSV spans up to 24 hours are free; longer CSV spans and the OEM/CZML formats are Pro, with CSV capped at 336 hours (14 days). The step is in seconds and defaults to 60.