Thanks for the info, Ted. A little disconcerting to me that I have
to fill out an application to the gov't for this, though, but I suppose
that's a sign of the times. :-(


"Ted Molczan" wrote in message ...
"Vince" wrote in message ...
I haven't been doing any satellite observing for a year or so, so when I went back to
my usual source for elsets ( http://users2.ev1.net/~mmccants/tles/index.html ), I was
surprised that the combined "big list" of satellites is no longer available.

What's the next best place to find a consolidated, frequently updated .ELS or .TLE file?

Space Track is the new official source of U.S. government unclassified 2-line elements and related data:

http://www.space-track.org/perl/login.pl

In the section, Bulk Catalog Data Downloads, you can download the latest 2-line elements of the Full Satellite Catalog, updated
twice daily. You can also download files containing all elsets issued each day.

CelesTrack has produced an excellent utility called TLE Retriever, which automatically logs in and downloads these and other data
from Space Track:

http://celestrak.com/SpaceTrack/TLERetrieverHelp.asp

It is important to note that Space Track's user agreement requires that you obtain approval before redistributing any data
downloaded from their site. An interim approval process was announced last week; the application forms are on the site.

Ted Molczan