Ephem · terms of use
Last updated 2026-08-05. If this changes materially you'll see a note on the log and any Pro / Shell customers will be emailed 30 days before it takes effect.
Ephem's outputs — the JSON responses from the API, the shell density feed, the programmatic overpass pages — are provided under a permissive licence: use them commercially, modify them, redistribute them. Please attribute Ephem where practical, and please do not misrepresent the source of the underlying data (NOAA, CelesTrak, Launch Library 2, NASA DONKI, JPL Horizons).
The underlying upstream data is subject to its own licences. NOAA data is US-Government public domain. CelesTrak's terms are at celestrak.org/publications. Launch Library 2 is CC-BY 4.0. NASA DONKI is US-Government public domain. JPL Horizons is US-Government public domain. If in doubt, follow the strictest of these.
Ephem issues API keys as opaque strings. Ephem stores the SHA-256 hash of every key — not the plaintext — and cannot recover a key that you have lost. Regenerate a lost key via the account portal or by contacting naraxcel.studio@gmail.com.
Paid tiers are billed through Stripe. Ephem does not see or store payment-card data. Cancel at any time; you retain access through the paid-for period.
Free-tier users get best-effort availability. Hobby and Pro tiers get email support and a 99.5% monthly-uptime target measured at the edge; if we fall below it, credits apply automatically. Shell tiers get an SLA specified in the customer's order form. There is no dashboard for this — check /status.
Ephem must not be used to build a service that endangers a specific person or spacecraft — targeting attacks, RF interference planning, or the like. Ephem may terminate accounts that do so and cooperate with law enforcement where legally required. Nothing in this section restricts legitimate research, journalism, or defence work under applicable law.
Ephem does not use analytics scripts, cookies, or fingerprinting on this site. The overhead map optionally uses browser geolocation — that request is made only when you click the geolocate control, and the coordinates never leave your device. Server logs (IP, path, response code) are retained for 30 days for abuse investigation and rate-limit enforcement, then discarded.
Ephem provides its outputs as-is, without warranty. Ephem is not liable for decisions made by you or your customers based on Ephem data. In particular: do not use Ephem for launch go/no-go decisions, spaceflight safety-of-life determinations, or space-weather-driven power-grid actions without independent verification against the primary source.
Written by a person. Reachable at naraxcel.studio@gmail.com. Complaints, DMCA requests, and press enquiries go to the same address.