International space station tracker code#

Right now, the two line element set for the ISS is hardcoded.

Internet connectivity to automatically download the latest orbital data.

You'd have to have some kind of feedback for this though. Having to flip 180 degrees is cumbersome and makes the motion not as smooth.

Switch the servo out with another stepper motor.

This is probably the biggest limitation of the system. Right now I have to hardcode the time, which means any time power is disconnected, the time needs to be recoded.

A real time clock with a battery backup.

Things I’d I would include in version 2.0: Compile 'main.cpp' using the 'Compile' button and save the build file to your Nucleo board.Īs I've noted, this is just a first prototype, a proof of concept, and it's not extremely functional or user-friendly. Finally, enter your location details into the variables on lines 94 through 96.Ĩ. For the International Space Station, you can use the first entry on this page. Also in 'main.cpp,' enter in the two-line element set of the satellite you wish to track on lines 90 and 91. This value is in Unix time, so you can use to find the current time or convert a time in the future.Ħ. This is the time that the board will assume every time it is powered up (this is the biggest limitation of the prototype - that it does not have a persistent clock). In the 'main.cpp' file, edit the set_time variable on line 68.

Under the import wizard, navigate to the 'Libraries' tab, search 'mbed', and drag the official mbed library to your program workspace on the left.ĥ. You will also need the import the mbed library to your program.

International space station tracker code#

Click the 'Import!' button to import the code as a program in your mbed workspace.Ĥ. At the bottom, click the 'Choose File' button and navigate to the zip file. On mbed, click the 'Import' button, then the 'Upload' tab. On the GitHub repository, click the 'Save Zip' button and download to your hard drive.ģ. The code compiles using mbed on the Nucleo F401RE development board.Ģ. All the code I used for the project can be found at the project repository on GitHub.