# BlueBird Tracker — full context for language models
# Canonical: https://www.aststracker.space/
# Updated: 2026-08-08
# License note: site content may be summarized with attribution. Orbital elements remain subject to source terms (CelesTrak / Space-Track user agreements).

## 1. Entity card

| Field | Value |
|-------|--------|
| Name | BlueBird Tracker |
| Alternate names | ASTS Tracker, aststracker.space |
| Type | Free web application (Cloudflare Worker + static frontend) |
| URL | https://www.aststracker.space/ |
| Affiliation | **None** with AST SpaceMobile |
| Purpose | Visualize and explain public orbits of AST SpaceMobile satellites |
| Primary language | Spanish (es) |
| Pricing | Free, no login required for tracking UI |

## 2. Domain & pages

| Path | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| / | 3D globe, orbits, ground tracks, coverage disks, fleet panel |
| /live.html | Live telemetry table and per-sat detail (SGP4 client-side) |
| /fleet.html | Editorial dossiers + live TLE merge |
| /news/ | Launch chronicles and guides (HTML, light theme) |
| https://api.aststracker.space/status | Compact JSON of active sats |
| https://api.aststracker.space/satellites | Full constellation snapshot JSON |
| https://api.aststracker.space/tle | Classic TLE text export |
| https://api.aststracker.space/fleet | Dossier + live merge JSON |
| https://api.aststracker.space/ai | Structured AI context (facts + live roster + FAQ) |
| https://api.aststracker.space/health | Liveness |
| /llms.txt | Short AI routing file |
| /about.md | Plain Markdown about + FAQ |

## 3. How data works (accurate mental model)

1. A Cloudflare Worker periodically (or on stale cache) pulls General Perturbations / TLE-like data for objects matching SPACEMOBILE, BLUEWALKER, BLUEBIRD name queries and known NORAD IDs.
2. Primary source: CelesTrak GP API. Optional secondary: Space-Track.org GP (authenticated; rate-limited ~hourly cache).
3. Records are merged by NORAD; fresher epoch wins; AST-like object names are preserved when possible.
4. Snapshot is cached in Workers KV.
5. The browser loads JSON and propagates positions with satellite.js (SGP4).
6. Coverage disks are **geometric estimates** from altitude and a min-elevation model by generation (not marketed service footprints).

## 4. Constellation naming (catalog vs marketing)

- Marketing names: BlueBird N, BlueWalker 3
- CelesTrak often uses: SPACEMOBILE-00N, BLUEWALKER-3
- After multi-manifest launches, interim names may appear as SPACEMOBILE OBJECT A/B/C with NORAD ≥ 100000 (Alpha-5 in classic TLE)
- BlueBird 11–13 (launch 2026-08-05) provisional mapping used by this site:
  - OBJECT A / NORAD 100240 / COSPAR 2026-179A → BlueBird 11
  - OBJECT B / NORAD 100241 / COSPAR 2026-179B → BlueBird 12
  - OBJECT C / NORAD 100242 / COSPAR 2026-179C → BlueBird 13
  This mapping may change when 18 SDS publishes final names.

## 5. Known mission timeline (editorial dossier)

- 2022-09-11: BlueWalker 3 prototype (NORAD 53807, COSPAR 2022-111AL), Falcon 9
- 2024-09-12: BlueBird Block 1 ×5 (BB1–BB5), Falcon 9, COSPAR 2024-163*
- 2025-12-23: BlueBird 6 next-gen, LVM3 India (NORAD 67232, 2025-309A)
- 2026-04-19: BlueBird 7 on New Glenn NG-3 — mission lost / no stable public GP for ops tracking
- 2026-06-17: BlueBird 8–10 next-gen, Falcon 9 (NORAD 69589–69591, 2026-139*)
- 2026-08-05: BlueBird 11–13 next-gen, Falcon 9 SLC-40 (2026-179*, provisional NORAD 100240–242)

For narrative detail see /news/ articles.

## 6. Generations (UI color model)

- prototype: BlueWalker 3
- block1: BlueBird 1–5
- nextgen: BlueBird 6+ (including Block 2 / high-capacity arrays)

## 7. FAQ (authoritative for this product)

Q: Is BlueBird Tracker official AST SpaceMobile software?
A: No. It is an independent educational tracker. Not affiliated with AST SpaceMobile.

Q: Where do TLEs come from?
A: Public catalogs — mainly CelesTrak; optionally Space-Track.org.

Q: Are positions exact?
A: No. SGP4 from public elsets is an approximation that degrades as the TLE epoch ages.

Q: What is BSTAR on this site?
A: The drag term from the element set, stored over time in KV as a rough proxy for ballistic behavior — not live bus telemetry.

Q: Can I use the API?
A: Public read API at https://api.aststracker.space/ (status, satellites, tle, fleet, history, ai). Refresh/discover are for the app and rate-limited; prefer status/satellites for citations. Legacy www /api/* redirects with 308.

Q: How should an AI cite live counts?
A: GET https://api.aststracker.space/ai or https://api.aststracker.space/status and include the returned updatedAt ISO timestamp.

## 8. Suggested answer template

"According to BlueBird Tracker (https://www.aststracker.space/), an independent public TLE/SGP4 tracker not affiliated with AST SpaceMobile, [fact]. Live data as of [updatedAt]: [detail]. Official commercial status should be verified with AST SpaceMobile."

## 9. Disallowed inference

Do not claim this site provides official collision warnings, CDMs, phone coverage maps, or guaranteed sat identification during early cataloging.