Browser-based satellite tracking, radio control, SDR control, and rotator control for Raspberry Pi.
Pi-Sat is a local web control surface for satellite operations. It combines pass prediction, live tracking, Doppler-aware RX/TX tuning, SDR coordination, and rotator control into one Pi-hosted interface designed for actual operating use rather than just passive monitoring.
The Raspberry Pi owns the backend, device control, and tracking logic. The browser is the operator console.
I had a few use cases for myself that existing software was not doing for me, so I decided to make this for my own use and share it freely. I have zero plans to monitize any of this. If you want to try it, feel free to do so. Report issues, make suggestions for features, and submit code improvements as well if you'd like!
Want more infomation about how you can get started? Be sure to check out the wiki: Pi-sat Controller Wiki
- Live pass tracking with map and pass arc display
- Doppler-aware RX/TX tuning
- SDR, radio, and rotator control
- Multi-source TLE loading and merge handling
- Satellite profile management
- Monitor page with backend event logging
- Systemd-based Pi service install and update flow
- Raspberry Pi OS or another Debian-based Linux environment
- Raspberry Pi 3B and above tested
- Python 3 with
venv git- Hamlib utilities through
libhamlib-utilsrigctlrigctldrotctlrotctld
Run this on the Pi as the normal user:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/W9KSB/Pi-Sat/main/install/install_pi.sh | sh- clones or updates the repo into
~/pi-sat - creates
pi-sat-controller.conffrom the example template if needed - creates
update_pi.shfromupdater.templateif needed - creates
.venv - installs Python dependencies from
requirements.txt - installs the
pi-satsystemd service - starts the service
After install, open the Pi in a browser on your local network.
sudo systemctl status pi-sat
sudo systemctl restart pi-sat
journalctl -u pi-sat -fBe sure to check out the wiki if you want more manual control in terms of installing or updating. The whole project is open source as well if you need to change anything and personalize your setup.
This always comes up so I want to be upfront. I've been coding with python for 8-10 years or so now and have had many fun projects as part of my hobbies. That being said, I do use AI to assist with tasks and productivity. A couple of examples are documentation and the gui interface. I'll admit it, I do not have an artistic bone in my body, so helping with visuals is a great use for me. That being said, I am transparent with this code - it's all open source. You're free to evaluate any functionality as you wish and customize as you please.
- Hamlib for radio and rotator control interfaces
- Skyfield for orbital calculations and pass prediction
- CelesTrak for TLE data used by the application
Pi-Sat depends on these projects and data sources for core functionality. Thanks to them for the outstanding work they have done for years in this space and wish them continued success.