Space Data Standards

The open-source schema framework for the modern space industry. High-performance FlatBuffers serialization with JSON Schema compatibility, replacing legacy formats like TLE, VCM, and XML-based CCSDS messages.

What is Space Data Standards?

An open-source project providing modern, high-performance schemas for space situational awareness and space traffic management data exchange.

• Built on Google FlatBuffers with zero-copy serialization
• Cross-platform support for 13+ programming languages
• Based on CCSDS standards used by NASA, ESA, JAXA, and space agencies worldwide
• Modernized for mega-constellations, commercial space, and real-time operations
• Powers the Space Data Network (SDN), a decentralized P2P network for global space data exchange built on IPFS/libp2p

Why FlatBuffers?

Replacing Legacy Formats

Space Data Standards modernizes decades-old formats while maintaining compatibility with CCSDS standards.

Schema Categories

Orbital Data

OMM, OEM, OCM, OSM — Mean elements, ephemerides, and orbit characterization messages

Conjunction

CDM, CSM, CAT — Conjunction data, screening, and catalog messages for collision avoidance

Entity

EPM, PNM — Entity profiles and publish notifications for identity management

Tracking

TDM, RFM — Tracking data and reference frame messages for observation data

Maneuver

MET, MPE — Maneuver planning and execution messages for operations

Telemetry

XTC — XML Telemetry and Command Exchange for spacecraft telemetry data

Marketplace

STF, PUR, REV, ACL — Storefront, purchase, review, and access control for data commerce

Geospatial

GJN, CZM, KML, GPX, COT — GeoJSON, CZML, KML, GPX, and Cursor on Target for geospatial data exchange

For the full schema registry (100+ schemas across 16 categories), visit spacedatastandards.org.

Quick Start

Install

# npm
npm install spacedatastandards.org

# pip
pip install spacedatastandards.org

FlatBuffers Serialization (JavaScript)

import { writeFileSync, readFileSync } from 'fs';
import { join } from 'path';
import { writeFB, readFB } from 'spacedatastandards.org';
import { standards } from 'spacedatastandards.org';

const { OMMT } = standards.OMM;

const ommDataArray = [
    new OMMT({
        OBJECT_NAME: "VANGUARD 1",
        OBJECT_ID: "1958-002B",
        EPOCH: "2024-06-22T16:56:20.014080",
    }),
    new OMMT({
        OBJECT_NAME: "VANGUARD 2",
        OBJECT_ID: "1959-001A",
        EPOCH: "2024-06-23T17:58:04.409760",
    })
];

// Write to FlatBuffer
const resultBuffer = writeFB(ommDataArray);
writeFileSync('output.omm.fbs', resultBuffer);

// Read from FlatBuffer
const buffer = readFileSync('output.omm.fbs');
const flatbuffers = readFB(buffer);

flatbuffers.forEach(obj => {
    console.log({
        OBJECT_NAME: obj.OBJECT_NAME,
        OBJECT_ID: obj.OBJECT_ID,
        EPOCH: obj.EPOCH
    });
});

WASM CCSDS Message Parsers

WebAssembly-based parsers for CCSDS and XTCE standard message formats with round-trip conversion between KVN, XML, and FlatBuffers formats.

Supported Message Types

WASM Geospatial Parsers

WebAssembly-based parsers for geospatial and industry-standard formats with round-trip conversion to JSON and FlatBuffers.

Usage

import { init } from 'spacedatastandards.org/wasm/node/index.mjs';

const sds = await init();

// Auto-detect format and convert
const xml = sds.convert(kvnString, 'xml');

// Direct round-trip functions
const result = sds.ommKvnRoundtrip(kvnInput);
const xtce = sds.xtceXmlRoundtrip(xtceXml);

// Format detection
sds.detectFormat(input);   // 'kvn', 'xml', or 'json'
sds.detectKvnType(input);  // 'OMM', 'OEM', 'CDM', etc.
sds.detectXmlType(input);  // 'OMM', 'XTCE', etc.

Building WASM

Requires Emscripten:

npm run build:wasm

13 Language Support

All schemas are defined in FlatBuffers IDL and automatically compiled to all supported languages. JSON Schema with x-flatbuffer annotations is also generated for validation and documentation.

Space Data Network

The Space Data Network (SDN) is a decentralized P2P network for global space data exchange built on IPFS/libp2p.

• Decentralized Architecture — No central server or single point of failure
• Real-time PubSub — Subscribe to data streams by schema type (OMM, CDM, etc.)
• Cryptographic Verification — Ed25519 signatures on all data
• Content Addressing — Tamper-proof data with IPFS CIDs
• Cross-Platform — Server, browser, desktop, and edge relay support

Repository Structure

• schema/ — FlatBuffers IDL schema definitions for all space data standards
• dist/ — Generated source code archives from FlatBuffer IDLs for all supported languages
• lib/ — Generated source code organized by language (ts, js, py, java, go, cpp, cs, kt, rs, dart, php, sw, lob)
• src/cpp/ — C++ CCSDS/XTCE message parsers (compiled to WASM)
• wasm/ — WebAssembly module and Node.js wrapper for message parsing
• website/ — Svelte-based website source

Deployment

Space Data Standards supports 13 programming languages, each with its own package manager. For detailed instructions on publishing packages to npm, PyPI, crates.io, Maven Central, NuGet, pub.dev, and more, see the Deployment Guide.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. To propose changes or improvements to the existing FlatBuffer IDLs, please submit a pull request or open an issue for discussion.

For more detailed discussions or to request new features, reach out via email at spacestandards@digitalarsenal.io, or by opening an issue on this repository.

Documentation

• Website
• Gitbook Documentation
• Legacy Message Documentation
• Generated Source Code Files

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.