Extract text from satellite data files (TLE)
To convert TLE data files to another format, you need Stellarium or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Orbital Tracking Data" file type, you need software like Stellarium or a similar tool.
A .TLE (Two-Line Element) file is a standardized data format used to encode the orbital trajectories of Earth-orbiting satellites and space debris. Developed by NORAD and the US Space Command, this text-based file contains critical mathematical variables like mean motion, eccentricity, and inclination. Typical use cases include tracking the International Space Station, predicting satellite passes, and analyzing space debris collisions.
You can open these files using advanced planetarium software like Stellarium, tracking programs like Gpredict, or generic text editors like Notepad++. For more information, read the Wikipedia article on Two-line element sets.
Users often need to convert .TLE files because the format is a legacy standard originally designed for 1960s punch cards. It relies on strict, space-delimited character positions rather than modern delimiters like commas. This makes the data extremely difficult for humans to read and breaks standard spreadsheet imports. Furthermore, the file only contains mathematical orbital parameters, not direct latitude or longitude coordinates.
The best target formats for conversion are CSV or JSON for modern database integration, or TXT for basic script ingestion. Converting a .TLE file to a visual map format like KML is highly desirable but requires calculating actual coordinates, meaning you lose the raw orbital mathematics in the transition.
This file format is difficult to convert because translating orbital elements into mapped coordinates requires complex SGP4 mathematical propagation. Standard online converters fail to process this because they lack the specific physical algorithms needed. Often, only the original tracking software can properly read or export the data into visual maps. However, just drag and drop your file to convert.guru to identify the format, view the raw text parameters, and convert the data into structured formats like CSV when possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your TLE file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted SCORE, VTP and GPX files.
If you want to convert TLE file to , you can use Stellarium or similar software from the "Satellite Orbital Element Set" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to TLE, try Stellarium or another comparable tool in the "Satellite Orbital Element Set" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our TLE converter.