StarStream
Open Source Satellite Signal Processing
Automate the receiving, logging, and processing of radio transmissions from overhead satellites with a Raspberry Pi.
Raspberry Pi Optimized
Designed specifically for headless Raspberry Pi with SDR and GPS support
Automatic ISS Tracking
Automatically activates SDR when ISS is in optimal range for reception
NOAA Image Processing
Automatically captures and decodes NOAA weather satellite APT signals
Hardware Requirements
Raspberry Pi
Running Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64 bit) in headless mode for optimal battery life
RTL-SDR Receiver
Software Defined Radio connected via USB for capturing satellite signals
USB GPS Receiver
For accurate location tracking and satellite pass predictions
Getting Started
1. Install Dependencies
Install required software packages including gpsd, rtl-sdr, sox, and Python dependencies
2. Configure API Keys
Set up OpenAI API, ngrok token, Gmail app password, and N2YO API key in .env file
3. Run Bootstrap Script
Configure crontab to automatically start tracking scripts and web dashboard on boot
4. Start Tracking
Launch ISS and NOAA tracking scripts, then access the web interface to monitor captures
Web Dashboard Features
Real-time ISS Tracking
Live map showing current ISS position and status
Audio Playback & Transcription
Listen to captures and read AI-generated transcripts
Satellite Pass Predictions
View upcoming NOAA satellite passes at your location
Weather Satellite Images
View processed NOAA APT images from captures
Manual Control Panel
Specify parameters and manually trigger recordings
Live Logs
Monitor tracker script output in real-time
How It Works
ISS Tracking
The ISS tracker constantly queries the real-time location of the International Space Station. When the ISS is within 750 miles and above 15° elevation, the SDR automatically begins recording on the amateur radio repeater frequency (145.800 MHz). Audio is captured, converted to MP3, and transcribed using OpenAI's Whisper API.
NOAA Weather Satellites
The NOAA tracker uses the N2YO API to predict future satellite passes for NOAA-15, NOAA-18, and NOAA-19. When a satellite pass begins, the SDR captures the APT (Automatic Picture Transmission) signal at 137 MHz. The raw audio is then processed using the NOAA-APT decoder to generate weather satellite images.
AI-Powered Transcription
Captured radio communications are automatically transcribed using the latest AI voice APIs. The system converts raw audio recordings to MP3 format, then processes them through advanced speech recognition models to generate accurate text transcripts. View both the audio playback and readable transcripts side-by-side in the web dashboard for easy analysis of amateur radio communications.