Exoplanet Archive vs Orbit

In-depth architectural comparison of the Exoplanet Archive and Orbit 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.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Exoplanet Archive 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).

Explore Exoplanet Archive Details

Choose Orbit 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).

Explore Orbit Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Exoplanet Archive Aerospace & Astrodynamics	Orbit Aerospace & Astrodynamics
Summary	NASA Exoplanet Archive — ~5600 confirmed exoplanets + candidates	Orbit's local-first task and workflow registry for coding agents.
Category & Scope	Aerospace & Astrodynamics	Aerospace & Astrodynamics

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

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).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "exoplanet-archive": {
      "url": "https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu"
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit-4": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@orbit-tools/cli@"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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