Nextinspace
“Never miss a launch.”
Overview
A command-line tool for seeing the latest in space. Nextinspace also supports use as a Python library, so you can integrate it into your application. You can also get data printed to the terminal in JSON, which can be piped into another program.
Features • Installation and Documentation • Using the Nextinspace Public API • Using Nextinspace in Shell Scripting • CLI Reference • Credits
Features
-
Get the next n items: Nextinspace by default prints the closest upcoming item, but you can request as many items as the LL2 API will provide.
-
Filter by type: Nextinspace allows you to filter upcoming-related by type. You can choose to only see
launches, only seeevents, or both. -
Toggle the verbosity: Nextinspace offers quiet, normal, and verbose modes. With
--quiet, you can get a quick overview of upcoming items. With--verbose, you can see all of the important details such as description and launcher. -
JSON output: Nextinspace provides a
--jsonflag for output in JSON format. This can be parsed with tools likejq. -
Pretty printing: Nextinspace prints upcoming items in formatted panels and with colored text.
Installation and Documentation
Nextinspace can be installed using pip:
pip install nextinspaceIt can also be installed directly from Github:
pip install git+https://github.com/not-stirred/nextinspaceOr you can use your favorite package manager:
# Arch Linux
yay -S nextinspace
# Nix
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.nextinspaceDocumentation can be found at Read the Docs.
Using the Nextinspace Public API
Nextinspace defines a public API of functions and classes that you can use in your code.
>>> import nextinspaceExample 1: Get the next upcoming space-related thing
>>> next_in_space = nextinspace.nextinspace(1)
>>> next_in_space
(nextinspace.Event('Starship SN9 Pressure Test', 'Boca Chica, Texas', datetime.datetime(2020, 12, 28, 21, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'SpaceX has conducted a pressure test on Starship SN9.', 'Ambient Pressure Test'),)
>>> print(next_in_space[0].date)
2020-12-28 21:00:00-05:00Example 2: Get the next two upcoming events
>>> next_2_events = nextinspace.next_event(2)
>>> next_2_events
(nextinspace.Event('Starship SN9 Pressure Test', 'Boca Chica, Texas', datetime.datetime(2020, 12, 28, 21, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'SpaceX has conducted a pressure test on Starship SN9.', 'Ambient Pressure Test'), nextinspace.Event('Starship SN9 Cryoproof Test', 'Boca Chica, Texas', datetime.datetime(2020, 12, 29, 18, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'SpaceX will likely conduct a cryoproof test on Starship SN9. This is the first cryo test performed on the vehicle.', 'Cryoproof Test'))
>>> next_2_events[1].name
'Starship SN9 Cryoproof Test'Example 3: Get the next upcoming launch
>>> next_space_launch = nextinspace.next_launch(1)
>>> next_space_launch
(nextinspace.Launch('Soyuz STA/Fregat | CSO-2', 'Soyuz Launch Complex, Kourou, French Guiana', datetime.datetime(2020, 12, 29, 11, 42, 7, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'The CSO-2 (Composante Spatiale Optique-2) satellite is the second of three new-generation high-resolution optical imaging satellites for the French military, replacing the Helios 2 spy satellite series.', 'Government/Top Secret', None),)
>>> print(next_space_launch[0].launcher)
NoneExample 4: Get the next two upcoming launches and their launchers
>>> next_2_launches = nextinspace.next_launch(2, include_launcher=True)
>>> next_2_launches
(nextinspace.Launch('Soyuz STA/Fregat | CSO-2', 'Soyuz Launch Complex, Kourou, French Guiana', datetime.datetime(2020, 12, 29, 11, 42, 7, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'The CSO-2 (Composante Spatiale Optique-2) satellite is the second of three new-generation high-resolution optical imaging satellites for the French military, replacing the Helios 2 spy satellite series.', 'Government/Top Secret', nextinspace.Launcher('Soyuz STA/Fregat', 7020, 2810, None, 312, 3, 46.3, 8, 8, 0, datetime.datetime(2011, 12, 16, 19, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')))), nextinspace.Launch('Falcon 9 Block 5 | Türksat 5A', 'Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, FL, USA', datetime.datetime(2021, 1, 4, 20, 27, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=68400), 'EST')), 'Türksat 5A is the first of two Turkish next generation communications satellites, which will be operated by Türksat for commercial and military purposes.', 'Communications', nextinspace.Launcher('Falcon 9 Block 5', 22800, 8300, 7607, 549, 2, 70.0, 47, 47, 0, datetime.datetime(2018, 5, 10, 20, 0, tzinfo=datetime.timezone(datetime.timedelta(days=-1, seconds=72000), 'EDT')))))
>>> next_2_launches[0].launcher.failed_launches
0Using Nextinspace in Shell Scripting
Nextinspace is capable of outputting structured JSON data that can be parsed by the likes of jq. As such, you can do something like this:
❯ next_3_in_space=$(nextinspace 3 --verbose --json)
❯ echo $next_3_in_space | jq "."
[
{
"type": "launch",
"name": "Soyuz STA/Fregat | CSO-2",
"location": "Soyuz Launch Complex, Kourou, French Guiana",
"date": "2020-12-29T16:42:07Z",
"description": "The CSO-2 (Composante Spatiale Optique-2) satellite is the second of three new-generation high-resolution optical imaging satellites for the French military, replacing the Helios 2 spy satellite series.",
"subtype": "Government/Top Secret",
"launcher": {
"name": "Soyuz STA/Fregat",
"payload_leo": 7020,
"payload_gto": 2810,
"liftoff_thrust": null,
"liftoff_mass": 312,
"max_stages": 3,
"height": 46.3,
"successful_launches": 8,
"consecutive_successful_launches": 8,
"failed_launches": 0,
"maiden_flight_date": "2011-12-17"
}
},
{
"type": "event",
"name": "Starship SN9 Cryoproof Test",
"location": "Boca Chica, Texas",
"date": "2020-12-29T23:00:00Z",
"description": "SpaceX will likely conduct a cryoproof test on Starship SN9. This is the first cryo test performed on the vehicle.",
"subtype": "Cryoproof Test"
},
{
"type": "event",
"name": "SLS Green Run Hot Fire",
"location": "Stennis Space Center, Mississippi",
"date": "2020-12-31T00:00:00Z",
"description": "The core stage of the Space Launch System will undergo the final 'Green Run' test, where the core stage will be fired for 8 minutes, demonstrating performance similar to an actual launch.",
"subtype": "Static Fire"
}
]
❯ echo $next_3_in_space | jq ".[].name"
"Soyuz STA/Fregat | CSO-2"
"Starship SN9 Cryoproof Test"
"SLS Green Run Hot Fire"The structure of the JSON outputted by nextinspace is basically demonstrated in the example above.
The structure and values of the data reflect the relationships between the Launch, Event, and Launcher classes, with a few notable exceptions:
- The
type_attribute: Thetype_attribute of NextinspaceEventandLaunchobjects is stored in thesubtypekey. Thetypekey actually holds the class of the Nextinspace object represented in the JSON object (eitherlaunchorevent). - The
datekey: Internally, Nextinspace stores dates and times in local time, but for JSON output Nextinspace converts date and time values to UTC. Also, Nextinspace outputs date and time values in ISO 8601 format.
CLI Reference
❯ nextinspace --help
usage: nextinspace [-h] [-e | -l] [-v | -q] [--json] [--version] [number of items]
Never miss a launch.
positional arguments:
number of items The number of items to display.
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-e, --events-only Only show events. These are typically not covered by standard launches. These events could be spacecraft landings, engine tests, or spacewalks.
-l, --launches-only Only display orbital and suborbital launches. Generally these will be all orbital launches and suborbital launches which aim to reach “space” or the Karman line.
-v, --verbose Display additional details about launches.
-q, --quiet Only display name, location, date, and type.
--json Output data in JSON format. Note that '--quiet' has no effect when this flag is set.
--version show program's version number and exit
Credits
This project would not have been possible without the Launch Library 2 API. Please consider sponsoring them on Patreon.