TLEscope
A modern and interactive 3D/2D satellite position tracker based on real TLE data.
Install / Use
/learn @aweeri/TLEscopeREADME
TLEscope
TLEscope is a satellite visualization tool designed to transform Two-Line Element (TLE) sets into intuitive, interactive data. It provides a streamlined interface for tracking the current and future positions of orbital bodies across both 3D and 2D environments.
<img width="2381" height="1235" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/a410cb2c-28ef-4e7f-86b5-f8a68ccac478" />Not interested in the market pitch? Click Here to skip directly to downloads.
Features
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Dual-View Visualization: Seamlessly toggle between an interactive 3D orbital space and a 2D projection featuring accurate satellite ground tracks.
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Accurate Terminator Line Simulation: Easily preview sunlight conditions, in 2D and 3D.
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Coverage Analysis: Real-time rendering of Line-of-Sight (LOS) coverage areas and comprehensive orbital characteristics.
<img width="45%" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/5cdf9629-5ae7-415e-8fa7-5ec3a2c953ef" />
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TLE Data Integration: Efficiently load and parse TLE data for individual satellites or entire constellations.
<img width="963" height="608" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/029451e5-0567-4af0-9c91-04d63636e131" /> -
Customization: Deeply configurable theming and functional options to suit professional or personal preferences.
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For nerds, By nerds: TLEscope comes equipped with tools designed for RF engineers, satellite operators, and people who just want to know when to expect the next sunlit ISS pass.
<img width="769" height="581" alt="image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/45495333-5f00-4c6c-af66-9933264e5e80" /> -
Minimal Footprint and High Performance: Developed in pure C utilizing the Raylib framework, TLEscope maintains a minimal footprint. The application provides high-performance rendering that is likely more efficient than your standard system file browser, even with hundreds or thousands of satellites on-screen.
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Native OS Support: Built for Linux (x86_64 and ARM64), macOS, and Windows.
Design Philosophy
Most existing orbital tracking software suffers from dated, unintuitive interfaces. TLEscope bridges this gap by prioritizing both visual clarity and ease of use. The project is heavily influenced by the Kerbal Space Program map view and Blender-style camera navigation, offering a familiar and fluid control scheme for researchers and enthusiasts alike.
Roadmap
You can find the roadmap here: ROADMAP.md
Development & Contributions
TLEscope is an evolving project with a rich roadmap. We welcome bug reports, feature requests, and code contributions via the project's issue tracker.
Download from GitHub
To download TLEscope, grab a portable zip from the Relases tab, then extract it's contents into a directory of choice. You can choose between nightly and complete relases:
- Stable relases are properly versioned notable milestone builds. They may not have the latest features, but they are a stable and safe choice.
- Nightly relases are always up to date with the latest commits, as long as they compile correctly. Do not complain too much if things don't work as expected.
Download from a package manager
TLEscope provides also packages on following systems/distributions:
- Arch Linux:
- AUR
tlescope-bin: Downloads and install the latest stable version of TLEscope from Releases.tlescope-git: Clones the latest commit of this repository and installs on the system.
- AUR
Building From Source
TLEscope uses gcc for Linux builds, clang with Homebrew's raylib for macOS, and cross-compiles for Windows using x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc.
Install the required build tools and libraries, then clone the repository and execute the make linux command in the root directory of the project, after which run ./bin/TLEscope (running from within bin/ will NOT work). If you want to build a Windows executable, you will also need to install the mingw-w64 package via your package manager of choice. Steps for typical system configurations can be found below:
Note: The Makefile bundles the executable with its required assets (themes, settings, data) into the dist/ directory. For a functional installation, use the contents of dist/TLEscope-Linux or dist/TLEscope-Windows rather than running directly from bin/.
Debian/Ubuntu-based systems
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y gcc make libasound2-dev libx11-dev libxrandr-dev libxi-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libglu1-mesa-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libwayland-dev libxkbcommon-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev
# If cross-compiling for Windows:
sudo apt-get install -y binutils-mingw-w64-x86-64 gcc-mingw-w64-x86-64
git clone https://github.com/aweeri/TLEscope
cd TLEscope
make linux # Results in dist/TLEscope-Linux/
Arch-based systems
sudo pacman -Syy
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git alsa-lib libx11 libxrandr libxi mesa glu libxcursor libxinerama wayland libxkbcommon curl
# If cross-compiling for Windows:
sudo pacman -S mingw-w64-gcc
git clone https://github.com/aweeri/TLEscope
cd TLEscope
make linux # Results in dist/TLEscope-Linux/
macOS (Apple Silicon / Intel)
brew install raylib
git clone https://github.com/aweeri/TLEscope
cd TLEscope
make macos # Results in dist/TLEscope-macOS-Portable/
cd dist/TLEscope-macOS-Portable && ./TLEscope
Windows systems Install MSYS2, then run the following in a UCRT64 or MINGW64 terminal:
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc make mingw-w64-x86_64-curl
git clone https://github.com/aweeri/TLEscope
cd TLEscope
# Override CC_WIN if using local gcc instead of the cross-compiler
make windows CC_WIN=gcc
