juliensimon/ucs-satellite-database

---
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: "UCS Satellite Database"
language:
- en
description: "Comprehensive database of active satellites maintained by the Union of Concerned Scientists, including orbital parameters, purpose, and ownership. Updated quarterly."
task_categories:
- tabular-classification
tags:
- space
- satellite
- orbit
- ucs
- launch
- open-data
- tabular-data
- parquet
size_categories:
- 1K<n<10K
configs:
- config_name: default
data_files:
- split: train
path: data/ucs_satellite_database.parquet
default: true
---

# UCS Satellite Database

*Part of the [Orbital Mechanics Datasets](https://huggingface.co/collections/juliensimon/orbital-mechanics-datasets-69c24caca4ab3934c9856994) collection on Hugging Face.*


The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Satellite Database is the most comprehensive
publicly available database of operational satellites, currently tracking **7,560**
active satellites from 69 countries/organizations across 31 purpose categories.

## Dataset description

The UCS Satellite Database has been maintained since 2005 and is updated roughly quarterly.
It includes detailed information about each operational satellite: its name, country of
registry, operator, purpose (communications, Earth observation, navigation, scientific,
technology development, etc.), orbital parameters, launch details, and physical characteristics.

What makes the UCS database uniquely valuable is its focus on the "why" behind each satellite, not just the "where." While NORAD's SATCAT tracks orbital parameters and the TLE catalog provides ephemeris data, the UCS database adds the human layer: who operates each satellite, what it does, who pays for it, and what sector it serves. This makes it the go-to source for policy researchers studying the militarization of space, economists analyzing the satellite communications market, and journalists reporting on the growing commercial space industry. The database distinguishes between civil, commercial, government, and military users, and categorizes purposes from broadband communications to weather monitoring to signals intelligence.

The database captures the full diversity of the operational satellite population across all orbit regimes. LEO satellites (below 2,000 km) include Earth observation platforms, broadband mega-constellations, and scientific missions. MEO hosts navigation constellations like GPS and Galileo. GEO satellites at 35,786 km serve as communications relays, weather sentinels, and early warning platforms. Elliptical orbits like Molniya and Tundra provide high-latitude coverage for nations like Russia. Physical parameters such as launch mass, dry mass, and power output help characterize satellite capability classes, from 1-kg CubeSats to 6,000-kg GEO communications platforms.

Because the UCS database is curated by analysts rather than generated automatically from tracking data, it includes contextual information that no orbital catalog can provide -- contractor details, expected lifetime, and purpose classifications that require human judgment. This makes it an essential complement to the SATCAT and TLE datasets for any comprehensive analysis of the space environment.

## Schema

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `satellite_name` | string | Name of the satellite |
| `country_registry` | string | Country/organization of UN registry |
| `operator` | string | Satellite operator/owner |
| `users` | string | User category (civil, commercial, government, military) |
| `purpose` | string | Primary purpose |
| `detailed_purpose` | string | Detailed purpose description |
| `orbit_class` | string | Orbit class (LEO, MEO, GEO, Elliptical) |
| `orbit_type` | string | Orbit type |
| `perigee_km` | float64 | Perigee altitude (km) |
| `apogee_km` | float64 | Apogee altitude (km) |
| `inclination_deg` | float64 | Orbital inclination (degrees) |
| `period_minutes` | float64 | Orbital period (minutes) |
| `launch_mass_kg` | float64 | Launch mass (kg) |
| `launch_date` | string | Date of launch |
| `norad_id` | float64 | NORAD catalog number |
| `cospar_id` | string | COSPAR designation |

## Quick stats

- **7,560** active satellites
- **69** countries/organizations
- **31** purpose categories
- Orbit classes: LEO (6,767), GEO (590), MEO (143), Elliptical (59), LEo (1)

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/ucs-satellite-database", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()

# Satellites by orbit class
print(df["orbit_class"].value_counts())

# Communications satellites
comms = df[df["purpose"].str.contains("Communications", na=False)]
print(f"{len(comms):,} communications satellites")

# Satellites by country
by_country = df["country_registry"].value_counts().head(10)
print(by_country)
```

## Data source

[Union of Concerned Scientists Satellite Database](https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database).

## Update schedule

Quarterly (1st of the month at 06:00 UTC) via [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets).

## Related datasets

- [space-track-satcat](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/space-track-satcat) -- NORAD Satellite Catalog
- [satnogs-transmitters](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/satnogs-transmitters) -- SatNOGS Transmitter Database

## Pipeline

Source code: [juliensimon/space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets)

## Support

If you find this dataset useful, please give it a ❤️ on the [dataset page](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/ucs-satellite-database) and share feedback in the Community tab! Also consider giving a ⭐️ to the [space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets) repo.

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{ucs_satellite_database,
author = {Simon, Julien},
title = {UCS Satellite Database},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Hugging Face},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/ucs-satellite-database},
note = {Based on the Union of Concerned Scientists Satellite Database}
}
```

## License

[CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)