SatellitePlus Orbital Radar

Turn iPhone and iPad into a worn orbital console: Metal globe, day-night line, cyan satellite particles, polar radar, highlighted groups and quiet local overpass alerts.

SatellitePlus turns iPhone and iPad into a stylized satellite orbit instrument. Instead of a plain table, you open a worn metal console with a textured Metal globe, day-night lighting, signal lamps, analog-style panels and satellite particles around Earth. It is built for space fans, sky watchers, amateur radio operators, classroom demos and anyone who wants to know when a satellite will pass above their horizon.

The main globe is interactive. You can zoom, rotate Earth and tap a satellite to select it. Satellites use the app's current cool cyan and ivory particle palette, not a generic green dot cloud. The selected satellite receives a highlighted orbit. If you allow location access, the globe centers on your longitude and draws a visible ground-station marker on the surface. The terminator helps you understand daylight, darkness and the context for observation.

The catalog supports search by name, NORAD ID, alias, country or region, orbit type and group. Starlink, Qianfan, OneWeb, navigation, weather, stations and debris can be filtered quickly. When you choose a group, the globe and trajectories highlight all matching satellites, so large constellations become spatial structures around Earth instead of long rows in a list.

For a selected satellite, RADAR shows a polar view from your observer position: azimuth, elevation, range, AOS, maximum elevation, LOS and current motion. You do not have to translate orbital elements into sky directions in your head. The radar tells you where to look and when the signal reaches its best point. A smooth scan line and afterglow keep the analog instrument character while staying readable.

SKY SCOPE places multiple visible or near-visible targets in one polar display. Selected satellites, group highlights and satellites with reminders get different signal styles, making it easier to judge the density and value of tonight's sky. PASS DOSSIER summarizes the next pass of one satellite: AOS/MAX/LOS times, duration, maximum elevation, azimuths, closest range, TLE age and reminder status.

Overpass reminders are local. You can choose every pass, at most once per day or at most once per week, so notifications do not become noisy. One active reminder is included; optional IAP adds Pro unlimited alarms or +5 Signal Credits. Each reminder uses custom signal audio and console-style copy. The list of armed satellites is visible in the app and can be cleaned up at any time.

On iPhone, the interface becomes a scrollable stack of instruments for quick outdoor use. On iPad, it becomes a wider console where the globe, radar, alarm, catalog and pass dossier can stay visible together. The app uses location only to center the globe, calculate passes, draw radar tracks and schedule local notifications. If permission is denied, SatellitePlus continues with a default observer.

SatellitePlus loads bundled fallback data first, then syncs the public CloudKit catalog when available, so a weak network does not leave you staring at an empty sky. The iOS app does not download orbit source feeds directly. A separate local macOS updater maintained by the developer publishes public catalog records.

Typical readings include satellite count, selected target, source state, orbital altitude, period, azimuth, elevation, range, next AOS, maximum elevation, LOS, TLE age, group hits and reminder status. The goal is a single flow: find a satellite, understand where it is, decide whether it is visible, and arm a reminder if it matters.

SatellitePlus is for observation planning, learning, demos and personal exploration. Predictions are based on public TLE data and SGP4 calculation. Actual visibility depends on data freshness, weather, obstacles, light pollution, illumination and device time. Do not use SatellitePlus for navigation, safety, mission control, commercial scheduling or any activity requiring certified accuracy. The app is not affiliated with NASA, SpaceX, Starlink, CelesTrak, NOAA or any satellite operator.