SatNOGS: An Open Network of Satellite Ground Stations for Hams

Chasing satellites usually means one person, one antenna and a few minutes at the right time of day. SatNOGS turns that around. It is an open source, participatory project that links amateur ground stations around the world into one network, so that anyone can schedule an observation of a satellite and have a station somewhere else do the listening. This guide explains what SatNOGS is, how its Network and its database fit together, what the public numbers show, what kind of stations take part, and how a radio amateur can use or join it. The description comes from the project websites, and the numbers come from their public interfaces on 27 October 2026.

What SatNOGS Is

The SatNOGS website describes itself as an open source global network of satellite ground stations, with three main parts: the Network, a global network of ground stations designed as an open participatory project; the DB, a machine-readable crowdsourced satellite information database; and the documentation, with detailed information on building your own ground station or adding an existing station to the network. The name is short for Satellite Networked Open Ground Stations. The documentation says that project development spans hardware, software and data processing, and that it aims to create and use a distributed network of ground stations around the globe. The database footer credits the Libre Space Foundation.

The idea is attractive for several reasons. A satellite in low Earth orbit is in range of any single station for only a few minutes per pass, but a network of many stations can listen to it many times a day from different places. The result is far better coverage than any one person could achieve, and a shared record of what each satellite transmitted and when. For a general introduction to hearing and working satellites yourself, read our guide to getting started with amateur radio satellites.

The Network: Observations on Demand

According to the SatNOGS Network page, the Network is a global management interface that facilitates multiple ground station operations remotely. An observer can take advantage of the full network of SatNOGS ground stations around the world. The network is open to anyone, so any observer can use all available ground stations and communicate with satellites. All observation results are public, and all data are distributed freely under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. The page invites people to join, whether as owners of ground stations, as builders, or as developers who can help with the satnogs-network web application, which is written in Python and JavaScript.

An observation works like this. You choose a satellite and a transmitter from the database, pick a ground station and a time window when the satellite passes over it, and schedule the observation. The station records the signal, the network stores the audio and waterfall, and the result is published for anyone to see. For many satellites the data include decoded telemetry, so a student or a satellite builder can look at the health of a small satellite without owning an antenna. Because every observation is public, the community can also check whether a satellite is alive, which is useful after a launch when new satellites need to be identified.

The Database

The SatNOGS DB is a crowdsourced and machine-readable catalog of satellites and their transmitters. Its home page lists new satellites and satellites close to decaying, along with decoder versions and a count of observations of each satellite. On 27 October 2026 its public interface listed 2,841 satellites, of which 1,774 were in orbit, 1,026 had re-entered the atmosphere and 41 were planned for the future. These counts show how fast the field is changing: many satellites in the database are small spacecraft with a short life, and many new ones are added after every launch. Each satellite has an identifier, a NORAD number where available, a launch date, countries and a list of transmitters with their frequencies and modes.

The database is also where operators of small satellites can check what the community has learned about their own spacecraft, and where hams can find the downlink frequency and mode for a satellite they want to receive. If your interest is in amateur satellites that you can work, rather than only listen to, the Gpredict tracking guide and our article on contacting the International Space Station cover the operating side.

What the Network Looks Like in Numbers

The public interface of the Network gives a picture of the community. Please read these figures as a snapshot from 27 October 2026, because they change daily.

The gap between registered stations and recently active ones is worth understanding. Many registered stations were set up for tests or by people who later moved on, so only a fraction of the list is active. Even so, hundreds of stations were seen in the previous week, and the total number of observations is in the millions. That is a remarkable amount of data for a volunteer project. The station list also shows what hobbyists build: the antenna entries on the registered stations include cross Yagis, plain Yagis, verticals, turnstiles, quadrifilar helix antennas and dipoles, mostly for the VHF and UHF bands, with some on L band and S band.

What a SatNOGS Station Looks Like

A typical station is small. It has an antenna suited to the band of interest, often a cross Yagi or a turnstile for the 137 MHz, 144 MHz or 435 MHz ranges, an inexpensive software defined radio, a low-noise amplifier and a small computer such as a Raspberry Pi. The computer runs the SatNOGS client, which contacts the Network, downloads the schedule, controls the radio during each pass and uploads the recordings. For beginners with a USB SDR dongle the entry cost is low, and the project provides documentation on hardware and software setup. Our guides to SDR options for hams and Raspberry Pi shack projects are good background for the equipment.

The station owner also chooses how much to automate. A simple station accepts any scheduled observation on its bands; a more careful one limits observations to satellites of interest, sets a minimum elevation angle to avoid noisy low passes, and publishes a description of its equipment. The station list shows these choices, including minimum horizon settings and target utilization, so you can see which stations are suitable for an observation.

A Sample Pass, Step by Step

To see how the pieces fit, imagine that you want to know whether a small satellite launched last week is transmitting. You open the database and search for the satellite by name or by its catalogue number. If it is new, it may appear in the list of new satellites on the home page. You look at its transmitters: a frequency in the VHF or UHF range and a modulation type. You then go to the Network, choose the satellite and the transmitter, and the interface lists upcoming passes over stations that can hear that band. You pick a station with a high elevation pass, schedule the observation and wait.

After the pass, the observation page shows a waterfall, an audio recording and, if a decoder is available, the decoded frames. A clean line in the waterfall that moves smoothly in frequency, bending as the satellite approaches and recedes, is the Doppler curve; you can confirm that the satellite is alive without a single piece of equipment of your own. If the waterfall is empty, you can try another station or another pass before concluding that the satellite is silent, because a low pass, local noise or a poor antenna can hide a real signal. This simple routine is the basis of many community checks on new satellites.

Limits and Good Manners

Like any shared resource, the network works best when people are considerate. Station owners donate their time, power and bandwidth, and they decide how many observations they accept. Do not schedule large numbers of unneeded observations, and be patient if a station is offline: the public interface itself shows that most registered stations are not active at a given moment. Remember too that the data you see depend on equipment of widely different quality. A weak signal on one station may be strong on another, so compare several observations before drawing conclusions. If you notice a problem in the database, such as a wrong frequency, report it through the proper channel so that the correction helps everyone.

Using SatNOGS as a Ham Without a Station

You do not need to own any equipment to take part. As an observer, you can create an account on the Network, choose a satellite and schedule an observation on a station with a good pass. The most useful uses for amateurs include:

• Checking whether a satellite is working. If a satellite you want to use has not been heard recently, the observations will show it.
• Finding frequencies and modes. The database lists transmitters, so you do not need to search through scattered web pages.
• Learning what signals look like. The recorded waterfalls show what telemetry bursts and beacons look like, which helps when you try to receive them yourself.
• Studying Doppler shift. The waterfall of a pass makes the frequency change clearly visible.
• Teaching. A class can see a real satellite signal without any equipment, using public data.

Be mindful of the difference between listening and transmitting. SatNOGS stations are receive-only ground stations for monitoring satellite downlinks. If you want to make contacts through an amateur satellite, you need your own transmitting station and the appropriate licence, and the SatNOGS data will help you choose the best time and frequency.

Joining the Network With Your Own Station

1. Read the documentation. The project’s documentation explains the hardware options and software installation, and it points to a wiki for how to use the network and build a station.
2. Choose an antenna that matches your goal. A simple turnstile or cross Yagi suffices for many low-orbit satellites on VHF and UHF.
3. Get a receiver and a computer. A USB SDR and a small computer are the usual combination.
4. Register your station. You enter the location, the antenna description and the minimum elevation, and the network assigns a station number.
5. Check your results. View the recorded observations and see whether the passes show a clear signal.
6. Improve step by step. Add a preamplifier or a better antenna, change location of the antenna away from noise, and keep the client software updated.

The client software version is another sign of how a project matures: the public station list shows versions such as 1.8.1, 2.1.2 and 1.6 in use, which means that stations run a range of releases. If you join, use the current recommended version from the documentation.

Contributing Without Building Anything

SatNOGS is a volunteer project, and it welcomes people who do not own ground stations. You can improve the database by correcting transmitter information when you have a verified source, help decode telemetry by contributing to the decoders, write documentation or translate it, and report bugs in the web applications. The Network page specifically asks for people fluent in Python or JavaScript to help with the web application and points to the source code and issue tracker. For many hams, the easiest contribution is to check a satellite pass with their own receiver and report what they hear, which gives the database a human confirmation.

The Bottom Line

SatNOGS is an open, volunteer network that shares satellite ground station capacity across the world. The Network schedules and stores observations, the database catalogs thousands of satellites and their transmitters, and all data are public under a Creative Commons license. On 27 October 2026 hundreds of stations were active, and millions of observations were on record. You can use it without owning anything, or add your own low-cost receive station with an SDR and a small computer. Either way, it is one of the best learning tools for anyone who is curious about satellites.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does SatNOGS stand for?

Satellite Networked Open Ground Stations. It is an open source project that links amateur ground stations into a global network.

Do I need a license or equipment to use it?

To schedule observations and look at the data you only need an account. Owning a receive-only ground station requires a receiver, an antenna and a computer; transmitting through a satellite requires an amateur licence.

Is the data free?

Yes. The Network says observation results are public and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

What is the SatNOGS DB?

A crowdsourced, machine-readable database of satellites and their transmitters. On 27 October 2026 it listed 2,841 satellites, of which 1,774 were in orbit.

What equipment do stations use?

Mostly VHF and UHF antennas such as cross Yagis, turnstiles and quadrifilar helices, plus a software defined radio and a small computer running the SatNOGS client.

How many stations are active?

On 27 October 2026 the public interface showed 4,541 registered stations, of which 610 had been seen in the previous 30 days.