Observing conditions and two-way area geometry
See the observing conditions on every overflight opportunity
Every AOI overflight opportunity now shows what the acquisition will actually be like, not only when it happens. A new imaging-quality view brings three readings together: the sun-glint angle (how close your viewing direction sits to the Sun's mirror reflection off the target), the Sun at the target (its elevation, bearing, apparent local solar time, and whether the ground was in day, twilight, or night), and the modelled ground sample distance (the size on the ground a single pixel spans, with the full curve and both footprint dimensions). Together they let you weigh lighting and resolution before you task an opportunity. The ground sample distance reading appears once you record a payload's pixel pitch and focal length.
Bring areas in from your own tools, and take them back out
Areas of Interest are now a two-way exchange with the tools your team already uses. You can import a boundary straight from a KML or KMZ file (Google Earth's native format) alongside the existing GeoJSON path, replace an existing area's boundary from a file without deleting and recreating it, and export any area back out as GeoJSON or KML. Import also surfaces what it changed or dropped, so the stored area matches the file you supplied.
Improvements
- Area import validation: a boundary VALAR cannot use (an edge spanning more than 90 degrees, a ring enclosing a pole, or an antimeridian crossing) is now rejected with a specific reason that names the offending part, and an area that can never produce overflights now says so instead of showing an empty list.
- Boundary density limits: when a boundary has more vertices or pieces than the ceiling, the refusal now names both your file's count and the limit, so you know whether to trim a few points or reach for a different source.
Fixes
- Measurement upload: uploading measurements for a spacecraft that cannot be resolved now returns a clear "not found" instead of a misleading "forbidden".
- Conjunctions: a conjunction that disappears while its details are being computed now returns a clean "not found" instead of an error.
API
- Spacecraft: the list endpoint now accepts NORAD ID, COSPAR ID, name, or an external key as filters, so an integrator holding any of them can resolve a spacecraft's permanent identifier in one call; each spacecraft also carries a settable external key, immutable once set.
- Payloads: a payload can now carry a detector pixel pitch and an optical focal length, both optional, which feed the new modelled ground sample distance readings.
