We are still testing this software and hope to add many features like:
Here’s the feature roadmap I’d use for **YNOT Space Tracker**, roughly in priority order.
### Core tracking improvements
* **Realistic Earth texture toggle** — Atlas / Real Earth.
* **Day/night terminator** — show where it is daylight and dark on Earth.
* **Sun position** — show where the Sun is relative to Earth.
* **Moon position** — basic Moon location and phase.
* **True orbit trails** — configurable number of minutes/hours before and after current position.
* **Orbit color legend** — clearly identify ISS, Tiangong, Hubble, Dragon, Starlink, etc.
* **Object visibility toggle** — turn individual spacecraft on/off.
* **Search spacecraft** by name or NORAD ID.
* **Favorites** — keep a permanent watch list.
### Overhead / viewing features
* **Next visible pass**
* **Maximum elevation**
* **Rise / peak / set times**
* **Direction of travel**
* **Visible vs daylight-only distinction**
* **Brightness estimate where available**
* **“Visible from Florida tonight” list**
* **Configurable observer location**
* **Use visitor location** as an optional mode
* **Multiple saved observation locations**, such as Cape Canaveral, Miami, New York, London.
### Launch tracking
* **Upcoming launch calendar**
* **Launch countdown**
* **Launch site markers**
* Kennedy Space Center
* Cape Canaveral
* Vandenberg
* Starbase
* Wallops
* Baikonur
* Kourou
* Jiuquan / Wenchang
* Tanegashima
* **Mission name**
* **Rocket type**
* **Launch provider**
* **Payload**
* **Target orbit**
* **Launch status**
* **Scrub / delay status**
* Automatically transition a mission from **Upcoming → Launched → Orbiting** when orbital data appears.
* Special handling for **SpaceX Dragon**, **Starlink**, **Falcon 9**, **Falcon Heavy**, and eventually Starship.
### SpaceX-specific features
* Track active **Crew Dragon** missions.
* Track **Cargo Dragon** missions.
* Track Dragon separation from ISS.
* Show **Starlink launch groups**.
* Group individual Starlinks into a constellation rather than cluttering the globe.
* Starlink shell/filter controls.
* SpaceX launch countdown widget.
* Booster landing zone / droneship marker.
* Booster identifier, such as **B10xx**, when available.
* Historical launch trajectory display.
### Satellite categories
Add category buttons similar to what you already have:
* Space Stations
* Crew
* SpaceX
* Starlink
* Weather
* GPS
* Communications
* Science
* Military / Space Force
* Earth Observation
* Amateur Radio
* Recently Launched
* Debris
The user could switch entire categories on/off.
### ISS-specific section
This could become one of the strongest parts of the plugin.
* Current ISS location
* Current crew
* Altitude
* Orbital velocity
* Next pass over reference location
* Time until next sunrise/sunset aboard ISS
* Number of orbits today
* Countries currently beneath ISS
* Current ISS daylight/night status
* Link to ISS live camera/feed
* **“Where is the ISS right now?”** compact shortcode
### Globe controls
* `+` / `−` zoom
* Drag rotation
* Auto rotate on/off
* **Follow selected spacecraft**
* **Follow ISS**
* **Follow launch**
* Reset Earth
* Florida/Home
* North-up button
* Full-screen mode
* Mouse-wheel zoom enable/disable
* Orbit line thickness control
* Labels on/off
* Cities on/off
* Country borders on/off
* Launch sites on/off
* Atmosphere glow on/off
### Better map/geography
* Major city labels
* State/province boundaries when zoomed closer
* Country names
* Oceans labeled
* Major geographic landmarks
* Better Florida detail because that is your reference location
* Cape Canaveral / Kennedy clearly differentiated
* Terrain / realistic Earth view
* Optional **night-lights Earth texture**
The night-lights view could look especially good with spacecraft orbiting over it.
### Time controls
This would be a major upgrade.
* **LIVE**
* Pause
* `-10 min`
* `+10 min`
* `-1 hour`
* `+1 hour`
* Date/time picker
* Playback speed:
* 1×
* 10×
* 60×
* 600×
* Rewind and watch a previous orbit.
* Fast-forward to the next Florida pass.
That effectively turns the tracker into an orbital simulator.
### Object information popup
Click a spacecraft and show:
* Name
* NORAD ID
* International designator
* Launch date
* Operator
* Country
* Mission
* Altitude
* Velocity
* Inclination
* Orbital period
* Apogee
* Perigee
* Current latitude/longitude
* Distance from reference point
* Elevation
* Next pass
* Related Space24 stories
### Space24 integration
This is where the plugin could become more than a tracker.
Each tracked mission/object could automatically query WordPress for related posts:
**ISS (ZARYA)**
`Latest Space24 coverage →`
Then show stories tagged:
* ISS
* NASA
* SpaceX
* Starlink
* Crew Dragon
* Artemis
* Space Force
You could click an object on the globe and immediately see the related news coverage.
### Homepage widgets / shortcodes
In addition to:
`
and:
`
I’d add:
`[ynot_iss_now]`
`[ynot_space_next_pass]`
`[ynot_space_launches]`
`[ynot_space_whats_overhead]`
`[ynot_space_countdown]`
`[ynot_space_object id=”25544″]`
That lets Space24 use pieces of the tracker all over the site.
### Alerts
* ISS passing Florida in 15 minutes
* Crew Dragon approaching ISS
* Launch in 1 hour
* Launch scrubbed
* Starlink launch underway
* Spacecraft reentry expected
* Interesting object above local horizon
Potentially integrate with email, browser notifications, Telegram, or the Space24 homepage banner later.
### Administration
* Add/remove NORAD IDs
* Search CelesTrak from WP admin
* Enable/disable categories
* Manage reference locations
* API/data-source status
* Cache status
* Last successful update
* Last error
* Clear orbital cache
* Force refresh
* Data-age warning
* Object count by category
* Export diagnostics
* Debug mode
### Diagnostics
The About panel should eventually show more than just library status:
* Plugin version
* WordPress version
* Globe.gl version
* satellite.js version
* CelesTrak connectivity
* Last CelesTrak fetch
* Cached record age
* Number of valid orbital records
* Invalid records
* Texture status
* WebGL renderer
* Browser WebGL support
* FPS
* Current globe object count
* Current observer coordinates
### Longer-term ideas
* 3D Moon
* Lunar missions
* Artemis mission tracking
* Mars spacecraft
* Deep-space probes
* Asteroids / NEO close approaches
* Geostationary satellite belt
* GPS constellation visualization
* Starlink constellation visualization
* Space debris density view
* Historical orbit playback
* Reentry predictions
* Solar weather / aurora oval overlay
* Hurricane/weather satellite layer
* Ground stations
* Satellite footprints / radio coverage
* ISS radio contact windows
* Satellite line-of-sight cone