#ISS TRACKING PROGRAM HOW TO#
#ISS TRACKING PROGRAM CODE#

The forth row is a graphics library to create screen images.The third line is used to import the world location list.The second row is used to calculate this distance between two global locations.The first row is required to capture the ISS's location.import json, urllib.request, timeДЇrom PIL import Image, ImageDraw,ImageFont Python Programming Guide to Tracking the ISSД®nter all the libraries needed. A trail of dots show the path it has taken across the world. The ISS takes about 90 minutes to complete one orbit so in 3 minutes it travels about 1,386 km or 864 miles. The location is then plotted on a map of the world so you can see where it is.ДЄs the e-ink display is not designed to updated constantly it refreshes every 3 minutes. This could be over 1000 km away when the ISS is over an ocean. Using the longitude and latitude co-ordinates in a list of co-ordinates for locations around the world the python script determines the closest location. I choose an api at which creates a json script that can be read in python. The ISS location is available in a python library called starfield available in pip or via a few api's online. So the Rpi Zero w and the e-ink display are both low powered devices meaning they can happily run on a battery for days if required. A python program can find out what is the closest location on earth and the display it on the e-ink display.Д®-ink displays only use power to change the image unlike LCD displays that need power at all times. Then using a list of the Longitude and Latitude locations of 1000's of Towns and Cities around the world supplied in a text file. So you can get the Longitude and Latitude right now. Information about the ISS's current location is available via a api from NASA.

#ISS TRACKING PROGRAM HOW TO#

My guide to the screen and how to program it is here. The display I have used is the Seeed Studio 2.13 inch Triple colour e-ink display. As they check in from time to time to see where space station is they get to learn where the Cities and Countries of the world are. The project is not only to show where the space station is but also it's a good geography learning project for kids. I'm interested in astronomy and thought it would be a fun project to build a ISS real time tracker using a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a Triple e-ink display. This a great opportunity for children and teenagers to get directly involved in space, science and programming in one project.

#ISS TRACKING PROGRAM CODE#

In 2019 the Raspberry Pi Foundation and ESA have teamed up again to get more code for a future mission on the ISS. These two Pi's of the Astro Pi's project, run code and experiments that schools, children and teenagers had written for the project. One of which was in 2016 when two Raspberry Pi's were sent into space to run experiments on the International Space Station while the UK astronaut Tim Peake was on board. The Raspberry Pi computers have been used for many great educational projects. This project uses an e-ink triple colour display on a Raspberry Pi Zero, to show the current location of the International Space Station (ISS), programmed in Python Python project with e-ink display - ISS Global Tracker

Iss tracking program