Celestrak vs N2yo — MCP Server Comparison | AllMCPs
Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison
Celestrak vs N2yo
In-depth architectural comparison of the Celestrak and N2yo 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
Celestrak
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 51/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required
N2yo
Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Remote HTTP/SSE
Quality: 49/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required
Verdict Summary: Choose Celestrak if you need specialized Aerospace & Astrodynamics tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose N2yo 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 Celestrak when:
You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
You prefer remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Get satellite orbital elements (TLE / GP data) for a single object by NORAD catalog ID. Returns orbital parameters: inclination, eccentricity, mean motion, RAAN, argument of perigee, epoch, and derived orbital period in minutes. norad_id 25544 = ISS, 20580 = Hubble. This is the orbital catalog, not…
search_by_name
Search the satellite catalog by name substring and return matching orbital elements (TLE / GP data). e.g. "STARLINK", "NOAA", "GPS". Returns up to 50 matches with orbital parameters (inclination, eccentricity, period). Catalog/orbital data, not live tracking.
get_group
List orbital elements (TLE / GP data) for an entire CelesTrak group — e.g. the Starlink, GPS, or weather satellite catalog. Groups: "stations", "starlink", "gps-ops", "weather", "science", "geo", "active". Returns up to 100 satellites with orbital parameters (inclination, eccentricity, period). Cat…
N2yo Tools (3)
get_positions
Track where a satellite is right now (or in the next few seconds): get its live latitude, longitude, altitude, and look-angles (azimuth/elevation) from an observer on Earth. Use this to answer "where is the ISS right now?" (NORAD id 25544) or to locate any satellite by NORAD id. Example: get_positi…
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).
Celestrak is categorized under Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, N2yo belongs to Aerospace & Astrodynamics using remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. Select Celestrak when you need capabilities focused on aerospace & astrodynamics and N2yo when you require tools for aerospace & astrodynamics.
Find when a satellite will be visible to the naked eye overhead from an observer location (visual passes = bright, sunlit passes against a dark sky). Returns start/max/end times, elevation, azimuths, brightness magnitude, and duration. Use this for "when can I see the ISS pass over?" Example: get_v…
whats_above
List what satellites are currently above a location on Earth, within a given radius of the observer's zenith. Use this to answer "what satellites are overhead right now?" Optionally filter by category (e.g. 52 = Starlink, 18 = amateur radio, 1 = brightest). Example: whats_above({ lat: 40.71, lon: -…