What is the key difference between Orbit and Open Ephemeris?

Orbit belongs to the Aerospace & Astrodynamics category with cloud HTTP/SSE execution, while Open Ephemeris belongs to the Aerospace & Astrodynamics category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Orbit or Open Ephemeris in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Orbit and Open Ephemeris free or paid?

Orbit operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Open Ephemeris operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Orbit lists 0 tools with 0 views and 0 GitHub stars. Open Ephemeris lists 0 tools with 0 views and 3 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Orbit and Open Ephemeris together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Orbit vs Open Ephemeris

In-depth architectural comparison of the Orbit and Open Ephemeris 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

Orbit

Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Remote HTTP/SSE

Quality: 30/100 (Emerging) | Auth: No auth required

Open Ephemeris

Aerospace & Astrodynamics · Local stdio

Quality: 41/100 (Fair) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Orbit if you need specialized Aerospace & Astrodynamics tools running via a hosted cloud SSE transport. Choose Open Ephemeris if your workspace requires Aerospace & Astrodynamics integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Orbit 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 Orbit Details

Choose Open Ephemeris 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 Open Ephemeris Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	O Orbit Aerospace & Astrodynamics	O Open Ephemeris Aerospace & Astrodynamics
Summary	Turn any task into the right API calls: discover, evaluate, and integrate public APIs.	Sub-arcsecond ephemeris and astrology on NASA JPL DE440: natal, transits, eclipses, Human Design.
Category & Scope	Aerospace & Astrodynamics	Aerospace & Astrodynamics

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Orbit Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

Open Ephemeris Tools (0)

No explicit tool names declared in metadata yet. Check project README on main listing page.

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).

Orbit Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit-2": {
      "url": "https://www.buildwithorbit.ai/welcome"
    }
  }
}

Open Ephemeris Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-ephemeris": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@smithery/cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Orbit is categorized under Aerospace & Astrodynamics and uses a remote streaming HTTP/SSE transport. In contrast, Open Ephemeris belongs to Aerospace & Astrodynamics using local stdio subprocess. Select Orbit when you need capabilities focused on aerospace & astrodynamics and Open Ephemeris when you require tools for aerospace & astrodynamics.

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