---
id: pystac-ext-sat
version: "1.0.1"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pystac-ext-sat — Satellite extension for PySTAC

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 4.0M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pystac-ext-sat is a PySTAC extension package that adds support for the Satellite Extension specification (v1.0.0) to the PySTAC catalog framework. It provides typed access to satellite-specific metadata fields such as orbit state vectors, relative orbit numbers, and platform-specific identifiers that describe Earth observation imagery and related raster data. The package is designed for developers working with satellite imagery catalogs who need to read, validate, or work with standardized satellite metadata within the STAC ecosystem.

The package depends only on pystac-core and installs as a pure Python wheel, making it lightweight and easy to integrate into existing PySTAC workflows. It targets modern Python versions (3.10 through 3.13) and is actively maintained, with versioning tied to the extension specification version it supports.

Use it for:

- Read satellite orbit and platform metadata from STAC items describing Earth observation data.
- Validate that satellite imagery catalogs conform to the Satellite Extension specification.
- Build tools that filter or organize satellite imagery by orbit characteristics or platform identifiers.
- Integrate satellite metadata into PySTAC-based data discovery or processing pipelines.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Extends PySTAC to handle satellite-specific metadata fields like orbit state vectors, relative orbit numbers, and platform identifiers through the Satellite Extension specification.

Yes, if you are working with PySTAC catalogs that include satellite imagery. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and provides the standard way to handle satellite-specific metadata in the STAC ecosystem. Not necessary if your catalogs do not use satellite metadata or do not rely on PySTAC.

## Install

pip install pystac-ext-sat
uv add pystac-ext-sat
poetry add pystac-ext-sat

## Installing pystac-ext-sat

Before you install: Low install friction; pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency on pystac-core. Package is actively maintained with a recent release and no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install pystac-ext-sat

from pystac_ext_sat import SatExtension

# Access satellite metadata on a PySTAC item
sat_ext = SatExtension.ext(item)

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package provides methods to create or modify satellite metadata fields, or only read them from existing items.
- What specific orbit state vector formats and platform identifier schemas are supported beyond the v1.0.0 spec.

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 4.0M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

satellite metadata extension, pystac satellite, stac sat extension, orbit metadata handling, satellite catalog metadata, stac, satellite-imagery, geospatial

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/pystac-ext-sat) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/pystac-ext-sat/)