Satellite data, free to reuse
azmth publishes live satellite statistics as free CC BY 4.0 data. As of July 6, 2026: 15,913 active satellites, 10,699 Starlink, and at least 2,260 launched this year and still active.
Data updated: July 6, 2026, 23:31 UTC · source data refreshed every 2 hours from CelesTrak
For journalists, researchers, and educators
Reproduce azmth's numbers, charts, and screenshots freely, including commercially, with the credit "azmth.space (data: CelesTrak)" linked to azmth.space where possible. No permission needed. Everything is provided as-is; see the limitations below. Suggested citations:
inline"...according to live figures from azmth.space, based on CelesTrak data."
footnote"azmth satellite statistics, azmth.space/stats, data from CelesTrak, retrieved July 6, 2026."
Endpoints
| URL | Format | Contents | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|
| /stats.json | JSON | Live counts: total, by constellation, country, orbit, launch decade, launched this year | Every 2 hours |
| /data/history.csv | CSV | Daily time series: counts by constellation and orbit, one row per day | Daily (00:00 UTC) |
| /data/history.json | JSON | Same series with definitions embedded | Daily (00:00 UTC) |
| /data/history.metadata.json | JSON | Column definitions, license, methodology notes for the CSV | Daily (00:00 UTC) |
All endpoints allow cross-origin requests. In Google Sheets: =IMPORTDATA("https://azmth.space/data/history.csv"). From a terminal: curl https://azmth.space/stats.json. The daily series starts July 6, 2026 and is append-only.
Definitions
- Active satellites: objects in CelesTrak's active catalog, i.e. with current orbital elements. Mostly operational payloads, plus some backup, spare, and recently launched not-yet-operational craft. Excludes debris, rocket bodies, and dead satellites. Independent context: Jonathan McDowell counts 16,019 active payloads (June 2026); ESA estimates ~15,900 functioning and ~45,700 tracked objects including debris.
- Constellation counts: name-substring match on the CelesTrak OBJECT_NAME (STARLINK, ONEWEB, KUIPER, GUOWANG, QIANFAN, IRIDIUM, GLOBALSTAR). Includes just-launched units not yet in service.
- launched_ytd: satellites launched this calendar year that are still in orbit and active. A floor, not a launch tally: it excludes early failures, deorbited units, and classified objects, can decrease as satellites come down, and resets each January 1 (UTC).
- Orbit regimes: LEO (apogee up to 2,000 km), MEO, GEO (~35,786 km, near-circular, near-equatorial), HEO (high eccentricity), computed from each object's elements.
Where azmth fits among sources
CelesTrak publishes the raw orbital elements azmth aggregates. Jonathan McDowell's GCAT is the deep-history reference with per-satellite status research. ESA's Space Environment Statistics is the authority on debris. The Union of Concerned Scientists database, long the journalist's standard download, has been paused since May 2023. azmth is the convenient live aggregate layer: current counts, machine-readable, refreshed every 2 hours, with the definitional caveats attached.
Limitations
- Counts inherit CelesTrak's catalog decisions and status lag.
- No debris, rocket bodies, or classified objects.
- Constellation matching is by name, so a renamed or unnamed object can shift counts slightly.
- The daily series begins July 6, 2026; there is no backfill.
Stability promise
Fields and CSV columns are additive-only: names and meanings never change. If a breaking change ever becomes unavoidable, the old shape keeps working for 12 months and this page documents the change with a date. Methodology changes bump the methodology_version in the metadata sidecar.
Questions or corrections: hello@azmth.space. Data as of July 6, 2026, 23:31 UTC.