Docs

Union of Concerned Scientists normalized catalog of active satellites, updated twice yearly. Clarke ingests the full dataset (590 GEO satellites from the May 2023 snapshot), providing operator attribution, orbital positions, launch dates, and purpose classifications for all tracked positions.

The FCC's official list of all space stations authorized to operate in or serve the United States. Clarke ingests 174 GEO authorizations covering call signs, licensed frequency bands, licensee names, administrations, and in-orbit dates from government records.

US Space Force catalog of tracked orbital objects with TLE updates. Clarke ingests the SATCAT and live TLE tables (run via npm run ingest:spacetrack) to provide real-time satellite positions for the orbital globe and as a cross-reference for validating UCS identifiers.

A curated registry of space-industry companies maintained in src/data/companies.ts, spanning 30+ sectors including GEO Operators, Launch, Lunar, Earth Observation, Robotics, ISRU, Habitation, and Space Insurance. Each entry includes sector, headquarters, founding year, and a profile describing the company's role in the broader space economy. Cross-referenced with the slot and stock layers via the agents API.

The canonical international registry for every coordinated orbital position and frequency assignment. Bulk data access requires an ITU BR IFIC subscription and arrives in Microsoft Access format. Integration will extend the registry from active satellites to the full universe of filed and coordinated positions.

Annual and quarterly filings from publicly traded satellite operators including SES, Viasat, Eutelsat, and Telesat. Integration will power the pricing layer by mapping disclosed transponder revenues and slot valuations to specific orbital positions.

The registry is built from the UCS Satellite Database, which provides a normalized record of active satellites including operator, owner country, orbital position, launch date, and purpose. Clarke ingests all 590 GEO satellites from the current snapshot, making each one queryable by position, operator, and purpose. The UCS data is the satellite layer: it tells Clarke what is physically operating at each position and who operates it.

FCC authorization records from the Approved Space Station List are ingested as a second layer on top of the UCS satellite data. For each GEO position, Clarke queries the FCC table for any authorization within 0.6 degrees of the nominal longitude. Where a match exists, the detail page for that position shows the FCC call sign, licensee name, authorized frequency bands, administration, and in-orbit date. Where no match exists, the position has no US FCC authorization, which is expected for satellites licensed under non-US administrations.

Multiple satellites operating at the same nominal longitude are grouped together using a tolerance of 0.4 degrees. This matches the standard ITU coordination practice where satellites in the same coordination filing cluster within fractions of a degree. The grouping ensures that the four SES Astra satellites at 19.2°E, for example, all appear together on a single position page rather than as four separate entries.

The congestion score for a position is computed by counting all active GEO satellites in the UCS database within 2 degrees on either side of that position's nominal longitude, covering a total arc of 4 degrees. This score is a proxy for arc commercial density and spectrum coordination pressure. The tiers are Sparse for scores of 1 to 2, Low for 3 to 5, Moderate for 6 to 10, High for 11 to 18, and Critical for 19 and above. The score reflects active operational satellites rather than filed positions, so it understates total coordination pressure in arcs with heavy squatting activity.

The satellite data ingested into Clarke comes from the UCS Satellite Database snapshot dated May 2023. Satellites launched, decommissioned, or repositioned after that date are not reflected. For operational GEO satellites that have occupied their positions for years, the data is reliable. For recently repositioned satellites or newly launched hardware, the position data may be stale by up to two years depending on when the next ingestion occurs.

The UCS database includes NORAD catalog numbers and COSPAR international designators for each satellite. These identifiers are stored in Clarke's database but are not displayed to users. A spot-check of nine satellites against independent Celestrak records found that five had incorrect NORAD IDs, with some pointing to entirely different satellites at different orbital positions and one pointing to decayed re-entry debris. The satellite names, operator names, and orbital positions were generally accurate in the same check. Identifiers will be surfaced once they have been validated against an authoritative source.

The 174 FCC authorizations in Clarke cover US-licensed operators and foreign operators with FCC-granted US market access. Satellites licensed entirely under non-US administrations, including most European, Russian, Chinese, and Asian operators, do not appear in FCC records and will show no authorization data on their position pages. This is a reflection of jurisdiction, not a gap in data collection.

Position status labels in the registry (Active, Filed, Squatted, Inactive) are derived from the UCS classification, which marks satellites as active based on reported operational status at the time of the snapshot. The UCS does not independently verify operational status in real time, and the labels may not reflect satellites that have been recently decommissioned or quietly taken offline since May 2023.

Slot status is derived from UCS Satellite Database classifications, updated twice yearly. Satellite decommissions and new launches are reflected within the cadence of UCS updates, typically within six months of public announcement.

Orbital slot value estimates are derived from disclosed transaction prices in public M&A filings, bankruptcy proceedings (Intelsat 2020), and analyst reports from Northern Sky Research and Euroconsult. Ranges reflect meaningful uncertainty. These are not appraisals.

Lease yield estimates of 5-9% are based on publicly disclosed transponder lease rates in operator earnings reports and industry research. Actual yield depends on individual lease terms negotiated between the operator and their broadcast customers.

Nothing on Clarke constitutes investment advice. Value estimates, yield projections, and slot data are informational. The devnet tokenization features are a technical demonstration. Mainnet investment involves real financial risk.

Charged on the total capital raised when an operator's slot offering closes. A $10M raise generates $200K for Clarke. This is Clarke's primary revenue source in the early phase.

Charged on each yield distribution flowing through the platform. As listed slots and invested capital grow, this becomes recurring revenue compounding without additional sales effort. Ten slots distributing $5M/year in yield generates $250K/year for Clarke.

Clarke does not tokenize orbital slots themselves. International Telecommunication Union filings cannot be transferred on-chain. What Clarke tokenizes is a Special Purpose Vehicle that holds the operator's contractual right to receive transponder lease revenue from a specific position. Token holders receive fractional economic rights to that revenue stream. This is identical in structure to real estate tokenization, where an LLC holding a lease is fractionalized rather than the land title itself.

The target jurisdiction for Clarke SPVs is the Cayman Islands. This jurisdiction offers neutral tax treatment, a mature legal framework for fund and SPV structures, no withholding on distributions to foreign investors, and established precedent across the RWA tokenization and crypto industries. Each slot would get a dedicated SPV with no cross-exposure to other offerings or the Clarke operating entity. Clarke is in the design phase. No SPVs have been formed.

The satellite operator retains full ownership of their International Telecommunication Union filing, their satellite, and all operational responsibilities. Listing on Clarke does not modify the filing, transfer the frequency license, or affect the operator's relationship with the national administration holding their coordination agreement. Clarke tokenizes only the revenue stream.

The SPV tokenization structure is used by Securitize (BlackRock BUIDL fund), RealT (real estate), Maple Finance (private credit), and Centrifuge (trade receivables). Clarke applies the same framework to orbital infrastructure.

Each SlotOffering tracks yield_per_token_acc: a running total of yield-per-token distributed since the offering was created. When an operator deposits revenue, this increases by (holder_share / sold_tokens).

Each InvestorPosition records yield_debt: the value of yield_per_token_acc at the time tokens were last purchased or yield was last claimed. This represents yield the investor is not entitled to because it predates their position.

Claimable yield at any moment is: tokens x (yield_per_token_acc - yield_debt). Computed on-chain at claim time with no iteration over other positions.

The claim_yield instruction verifies the offering PDA retains enough lamports to remain rent-exempt after transfer. Yield can never drain the account below its minimum balance.