Live tracking of FramSat-1 and all Spectrum Flight 2 satellites — the first orbital launch from European soil. Andøya Spaceport, 5 September 2026.
FramSat-1 is a 1U CubeSat built by Orbit NTNU, carrying a sun-sensor experiment that measures the sun vector in 3D from the satellite body frame. It orbits Earth in a sun-synchronous orbit at roughly 560 km altitude, completing one lap every ~96 minutes.
The tracker shows the real-time position of FramSat-1 and its four Spectrum Flight 2 companions, calculated from Two-Line Element (TLE) data published by NORAD.
The tracker plays "Fly On FramSat-1" — a song written for the mission. Listen on your preferred platform:
The sun vector is projected onto the satellite body frame where X points along the velocity (flight direction), Z is the orbit normal, and Y completes the right-hand system (cross-track). The sun angle and azimuth are always computed — even during shadow passes the sun is geometrically in a defined direction, so the values remain meaningful.
The dark area on the globe represents night at ground level. Because FramSat-1 orbits at ~560 km, it can see "around" the Earth's curve and may be sunlit even when the ground below is dark. The satellite's own eclipse state (Sunlit / Shadow) is calculated separately using the full 3D geometry: Earth's position, radius and the sun direction. Of each ~96-minute orbit, roughly 35 minutes are spent in shadow and 61 in sunlight.