In-depth architectural comparison of the Astronomy MCP Server and Tle MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.
At a Glance & Executive Verdict
Astronomy MCP Server
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Local stdio
Quality: 53/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Tle
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 53/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Astronomy MCP Server if you need specialized Aerospace & Astrodynamics tools running via a local process. Choose Tle if your workspace requires Aerospace & Astrodynamics integration with remote web transport. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.
Which MCP Server Should You Choose?
Choose Astronomy MCP Server when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Apparent position of one body or named star for an observer and instant — equatorial (RA/Dec), horizontal (alt/az), ecliptic, plus distance, magnitude, angular diameter, phase, and constellation.
astronomy_get_rise_set
Rise, set, and culmination times for a body at a location, with maximum altitude at transit. For the Sun, also the three twilight pairs (civil/nautical/astronomical).
astronomy_get_moon_phase
Moon phase for an instant: illuminated fraction, phase name, synodic age, phase angle, and the next four quarter phases with timestamps.
astronomy_find_events
Forward search for the next occurrences of one sky-event class: eclipses, equinoxes, solstices, moon quarters, oppositions, conjunctions, greatest elongations, and apsides.
astronomy_list_visible
Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations
Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).
Astronomy MCP Server is categorized under Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Tle belongs to Aerospace & Astrodynamics using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Astronomy MCP Server when you need capabilities focused on aerospace & astrodynamics and Tle when you require tools for aerospace & astrodynamics.
The one-call "what's up right now" answer: every naked-eye body (and optional bright stars) above the horizon, ranked, annotated, and gated by the Sun's altitude into daylight/twilight/dark.
astronomy_get_ephemeris
*(gated extension)* Time-series ephemeris for a small body (asteroid/comet) or spacecraft via JPL Horizons — covers what the in-process major-body set cannot. Off by default.
astronomy_get_satellite_passes
*(gated extension)* Visible passes of a satellite (by NORAD catalog number, or by a name resolved against the catalog) over an observer, from a CelesTrak GP element set propagated with SGP4 in-process. Off by default.
Tle Tools (3)
get_tle
Fetch the Two-Line Element (TLE) set for a specific satellite by its NORAD catalog ID. Returns the satellite name, epoch date, and both TLE lines.
search_satellites
Search for satellites by name or keyword. Returns matching satellites with their NORAD IDs and TLE data.
list_recent
List the newest satellites in the NORAD catalog, highest catalog number first. NORAD ids are assigned in roughly launch order, so this approximates most-recently-launched. Note this orders by catalog entry, not by TLE epoch — the upstream offers no epoch-date sort.