Open Notify vs Spacenews
A side-by-side look at the Open Notify and Spacenews MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Open Notify for aerospace & astrodynamics work as a local process; choose Spacenews for aerospace & astrodynamics as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Open Notify when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
iss_now, astros.
Choose Spacenews when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Aerospace & Astrodynamics domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
get_articles, search_articles, get_blogs.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Aerospace & Astrodynamics | Aerospace & Astrodynamics |
| Quality signal | 56/100 · Good | 52/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 1 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 2 | 3 |
| Full listing | View Open Notify | View Spacenews |
Tools & capabilities
Open Notify tools 2
iss_nowCurrent latitude / longitude of the International Space Station.astrosPeople currently in space — name + craft (ISS / Tiangong / etc.).
Spacenews tools 3
get_articlesFetch the latest spaceflight news articles sorted by publication date. Returns title, summary, URL, image, and source.search_articlesSearch spaceflight news articles by keyword. Returns matching articles with title, summary, URL, and publication date.get_blogsFetch the latest spaceflight blog posts sorted by publication date. Returns title, summary, URL, image, and source.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Open Notify
{
"mcpServers": {
"open-notify": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-open-notify"
]
}
}
}
Spacenews
{
"mcpServers": {
"spacenews": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@pipeworx/mcp-spacenews"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Open Notify is categorized under Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Spacenews belongs to Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Open Notify for aerospace & astrodynamics work and Spacenews for aerospace & astrodynamics.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Open Notify has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Spacenews has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add open-notify and spacenews as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Open Notify has a quality signal of 56/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Spacenews has 52/100 (Good) with 1 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars.