Sputnik!
| Category | Price | Seller | Device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Free | Applicate Ltd | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
Sputnik! features:
- Predictions of satellite and ISS sightings accurate to the second.
- Second by second countdown to the satellite sighting.
- Automatically keeps track of the correct universal time. No need to worry about whether your device clock is accurately set.
- Notification of upcoming satellite sightings even when the app is not running.
- Displays compass direction and elevation for your device to easily find the part of the sky where the sighting will occur (requires capable device).
- Rotate your device to landscape orientation to show exactly where the satellite will pass in the night sky.
- Share sightings via Twitter, Facebook, Mail, Messages and others.
- Automatic download of up to date satellite orbital data, even when the app is not running.
- Offline calculations, no need to be connected to the internet once orbital data has been downloaded.
- Input your location automatically by GPS, select from a map or enter coordinates manually.
- Save your favorite places for easy access.
- Audio cues for the last seconds before the satellite passes by.
Sputnik! on Apple Watch:
- Easily find the next and last sighting at your current location.
- Detailed notifications for upcoming sightings.
- Glance view showing time left until your next sighting.
* Sputnik! is ad-supported *
Reviews
Perfect
jkh3
Everyone should have this app. Don’t forget to turn the phone side ways to see a picture of the track. Very useful
Use to be a great App
Tech Bear
I have used Sputnik for several years. It was great to know when an Iridium flare would be visible. They are amazing to witness. Also when the HST or ISS would make an appearance. However, now Sputnik no longer charts when the Iridium flares will appear. Only the HST & ISS are listed. The last revision of the App was about mid 2018. Sadly, it appears that Sputnik has been abandoned by its creator. Now, I rarely use it, as most of the transits of the HST & ISS are so faint at my location to observe.
Awesome App!
I too am a student of the gun
Great for tracking ISS(International Space Station, & other Satellites.
Great!
ProfMTG
I used to use this all the time years ago and loved it. App completely stopped showing Iridium Flares for me months ago and it’s been useless since (don’t care about HST or ISS).
What happened to the Iridium Flares tracking?
SUP&Surf
What happened to the Iridium Flares tracking? Seems to have stopped working this year.
Good app, but several flaws. Offline still has problems. I've included some tips!
AstroPaul
Several observations: 1. In a recent version, the developer added the Hubble Space Telescope! Nice! 2. However, the developer retained the awkward multi-screen approach for the ISS (and HST) — it has separate screens for the rise, peak, and set times. You end up having to tap around and look at multiple screens to get that info, the magnitudes, and location in the sky! This is the only ISS app that requires such wasteful puttering. Most satellite apps show you all that info in ONE screen or pane! The continued failure to fix that keeps the rating lower than it otherwise would be. I would happily donate or buy a pro version if this display of events was fixed and the information unified! 3. Alas, only part of the problem with outdated data has been fixed. (It also took a long time to even get this far!) The problem was that the app balked at showing ANY satellite passes if the data was even slightly out of date. It meant that the app was generally useless when you were off line. In addition, it balked at showing the past 48 hours of passes, even when those clearly didn't need to be updated! Good news! Those two things have been corrected. HOWEVER, YOU STILL HAVE TO FORCE-QUIT THE APP TO GET IT TO UPDATE THE DATA IF Wi-Fi IS OFF! That's just ridiculous! 4. The developer made a few other tweaks in the recent updates that improved the app, but other issues remain. Here’s the run down... PLUSSES Nicely done, easy-to-use app. Has countdown features and reminders. This continues to be the only free app I know that includes both Iridium flares and the ISS — and now the HST, too! That's convenient. Plus, this is one of the few satellite apps to provide an incredibly useful "look-back" feature to show events over the past 48 hours!! That's great as a way of checking a previous passage or to confirm what one saw! A KEY PROBLEM: MISSING FLARES AND PASSES! Unfortunately, Sputnik! often misses Iridium flares and ISS passes -- or gives different times than other apps do! The Heavens-Above website and the Iridium Flares app will agree, but Sputnik! will be off. It sometimes even lists Iridiums that no other app does. I've triple-checked my latitude and longitude, confirmed my location, and tweaked Sputnik!'s configuration settings several times to no avail (e.g., Sun position and daytime flares). Still, the app misses passes and flares or shows extras. Those are inexcusable flaws in a satellite app! STAR CHART TIP AND PROBLEM Several years back, after having used this for months, I discovered that if one unlocks rotation, one can rotate the i-device and get a sky view. Bad design when such a useful feature is HIDDEN. Even worse, though, the sky chart is unzoomable, unlabeled, and has no cardinal reference points!! So, it's hard to tell where one is looking! It shows only a part of the sky, too, which is of limited use for tracking an ISS passage. The developer should look at GoISSWatch, which does this smartly and simply. The sky chart should be accessible via a toolbar or button -- not hidden away — and shouldn't depend on unlocking the device's rotation control. SKY POINTING FEATURE PROBLEM The app has what could be a great "device orientation" feature. The E-W orientation works fine, but the numbers for up-down make no sense! There's an upcoming flare at 10 degrees, but the app points me to the ground, to my feet, not to slightly above the horizon! Just plain weird! A CRITICAL CONCERN The inclusion of ads was a poor move. They are distracting, irritating, and BRIGHT!! They interfere with the pleasure of quiet, peaceful star gazing. Put out a pro version with more features, or make it donation-ware. But leave the nice simple, ad-free version alone! It really does a disservice to long-time, loyal users to have ADDED advertisements to a product. LOCATION SETTING TIP Note: be careful in setting your location in any astro app -- there's a major difference between entering latitude and longitude using decimals and using minutes and seconds. Sputnik! oddly requires the data to be entered as decimals, but then shows it as minutes & seconds! ALTERNATIVE APPS The Iridium Flares app works better & has a star map, too. GoISSWatch is a great app for the ISS; it is FREE and includes a spiffy star chart. Still, Sputnik! is worth downloading!
Good app, but flawed. Offline no longer works properly. Tips!
AstroPaul
Several observations: 1. They’ve added the Hubble Space Telescope! Nice! 2. However, they’ve retained the awkward multi-screen approach — which means it takes multiple steps to find out the rise, peak, and set times; the magnitudes; and location in the sky! Most satellite apps show you all that info in ONE screen or pane! The failure to fix that — and the introduction of a new problem — drop the rating another star... 3. The major new problem, introduced with this latest version, is this: the app now balks at showing ANY satellite passes if the data is even slightly out of date. Before it would warn you that the times could be off, but it would still let you see the info. Now, it refuses to show anything! That’s a major step backwards. It means that the app is generally useless when you are off line. 4. They made a few tweaks in the recent updates that improved the app, but other issues remain. Here’s the run down... PLUSSES Nicely done, easy-to-use app. Has countdown features and reminders. This continues to be the only free app I know that includes both Iridium flares and the ISS (and now the HST, too!). That's convenient. Plus, this is one of the few apps, if not the only one, to provide an incredibly useful "look-back" feature to show events over the past 48 hours!! That's great as a way of checking a previous passage or to confirm what one saw! A FUNDAMENTAL USABILITY PROBLEM Unlike most satellite apps, however, Sputnik! does NOT show the user the start, maximum, and end times of passes — and the altitudes — on ONE screen. Instead you have to tap into and out of multiple screens to get the time of the first appearance (often wrong!), then another in-and-out to get to maximum elevation, and finally, yet another for when it enters the Earth's shadow. All that really undermines usability greatly! This is the only ISS app that requires such wasteful puttering. Other apps do this right and neatly show all that key info on ONE page in a quite readable fashion. I would happily donate or buy a pro version if this display of events was fixed and the information unified!! ANOTHER MAJOR PROBLEM: MISSING FLARES AND PASSES! It often misses Iridium flares and ISS passes -- or gives different times than other apps do! The Heavens-Above website and the Iridium Flares app will agree, but Sputnik! will be off. It sometimes even lists Iridiums that no other app does. I've triple-checked my latitude and longitude, confirmed my location, and tweaked Sputnik!'s configuration settings several times to no avail (e.g., Sun position and daytime flares). Still, the app misses passes and flares or shows extras. Those are inexcusable flaws in a satellite app! STAR CHART TIP AND PROBLEM After using this for months, I discovered that if one unlocks rotation, one can rotate the i-device and get a sky view. Bad design when such a useful feature is HIDDEN. However, it's unzoomable, unlabeled, and has no cardinal reference points!! So, it's hard to tell where one is looking! It shows only a part of the sky, too, which is of limited use for tracking an ISS passage. It also should be accessible via a toolbar or button -- and shouldn't depend on unlocking the device's rotation control. SKY POINTING FEATURE PROBLEM The app has what could be a great "device orientation" feature. The E-W orientation works fine, but the numbers for up-down make no sense! There's an upcoming flare at 10 degrees, but the app points me to the ground, to my feet, not to slightly above the horizon! Just plain weird! A CRITICAL CONCERN The inclusion of ads was a poor move. They are distracting, irritating, and BRIGHT!! They interfere with the pleasure of quiet, peaceful star gazing. Put out a pro version with more features, or make it donation-ware. But leave the nice simple, ad-free version alone! It really does a disservice to long-time, loyal users to have ADDED advertisements to a product. You've lost a star for that! LOCATION SETTING TIP Note: be careful in setting location in any astro app -- there's a major difference between decimals and minutes and seconds. Sputnik! takes the data as decimals, but then shows them as minutes & seconds! ALTERNATIVE APPS The Iridium Flares app works better & has a star map, too. GoISSWatch is a great app for the ISS; it is FREE and includes a spiffy star chart. Still, Sputnik! is worth downloading!
Excellent
ogenmatic
I've been chasing the ISS & Iridium flares for years. This makes it simple & fun! Pay the buck to dump the ads. Wish the dates listed for events stated the day of the week as well (ex: July 22nd - Wednesday)
Excellent
ogenmatic
I've been chasing the ISS & Iridium flares for years. This makes it simple & fun! Pay the buck to dump the ads. Wish the dates listed for events stated the day of the week as well (ex: July 22nd - Wednesday)
