The corpus

Grounded questions are published in full — text, answer, and the SQL that re-derives the answer from the Orbit Sentinel database. Memorizing a frozen answer doesn't help: the next freeze moves it. The reasoning set stays private (published answers become training data); 5 representative examples are shown below with per-category counts.

Grounded questions (28) — fully public

• Exactly how many currently un-cataloged debris objects larger than 10 cm are in Earth orbit as of early July 2026?

  answer UNKNOWN · as of 2026-07-10 · control · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT 'UNKNOWN'
  

• How many Starlink satellites have been cataloged in total, including decayed ones as of early July 2026?

  answer 12517 ±5% · as of 2026-07-21 · constellation · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%'
  

• How many Starlink satellites are currently on orbit (cataloged and not decayed) as of early July 2026?

  answer 10854 ±5% · as of 2026-07-21 · constellation · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%' AND decay_date IS NULL
  

• How many Starlink satellites have reentered (decayed from orbit) as of early July 2026?

  answer 1663 ±10% · as of 2026-07-21 · constellation · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%' AND decay_date IS NOT NULL
  

• How many Starlink satellites were launched during calendar year 2025?

  answer 3173 ±5% · as of 2026-07-10 · constellation · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%' AND launch_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• How many OneWeb satellites have been cataloged in total as of early July 2026?

  answer 656 ±5% · as of 2026-07-10 · constellation · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'oneweb%'
  

• How many active (non-decayed) payloads are cataloged in Earth orbit across all operators as of early July 2026?

  answer 18410 ±10% · as of 2026-07-21 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND decay_date IS NULL
  

• How many active payloads are in geostationary orbit (GEO) as of early July 2026?

  answer 1103 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE orbit_class ILIKE 'GEO' AND decay_date IS NULL AND object_type='PAYLOAD'
  

• How many active Chinese-operated payloads are in geostationary orbit as of early July 2026?

  answer 80 ±15% · as of 2026-07-10 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE operator_country ILIKE '%china%' AND orbit_class='GEO' AND decay_date IS NULL AND object_type='PAYLOAD'
  

• How many payloads were launched into orbit during calendar year 2025?

  answer 4268 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND launch_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• How many payloads were launched into orbit during calendar year 2024?

  answer 2612 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND launch_date BETWEEN '2024-01-01' AND '2024-12-31'
  

• How many debris objects from the 2007 Fengyun-1C anti-satellite test have been cataloged in total?

  answer 3532 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · debris · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE '%fengyun 1C%'
  

• How many cataloged objects (including debris) resulted from Cosmos 2251, the satellite destroyed in the 2009 Iridium collision?

  answer 1715 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · debris · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE '%cosmos 2251%'
  

• How many cataloged objects (including debris) are associated with Iridium 33, destroyed in the 2009 collision?

  answer 657 ±10% · as of 2026-07-10 · debris · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE '%iridium 33%'
  

• How many space-related FCC filings did Orbit Sentinel index for calendar year 2025?

  answer 17577 ±15% · as of 2026-07-10 · regulatory · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM filings WHERE source_agency='FCC' AND filed_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• How many NGSO space-station authorizations or US market-access grants are on file with the FCC as of early July 2026?

  answer 76 ±15% · as of 2026-07-10 · regulatory · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM space_station_authorizations WHERE is_ngso
  

• What percentage of all active cataloged payloads are Starlink satellites as of early July 2026?

  answer 58.9 ±5% · as of 2026-07-20 · constellation · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * count(*) FILTER (WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%') / count(*), 1)
  FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND decay_date IS NULL
  

• By what percentage did the number of payloads launched grow from 2024 to 2025?

  answer 63 ±10% · as of 2026-07-20 · catalog · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * (count(*) FILTER (WHERE launch_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31')
                      - count(*) FILTER (WHERE launch_date BETWEEN '2024-01-01' AND '2024-12-31'))
         / count(*) FILTER (WHERE launch_date BETWEEN '2024-01-01' AND '2024-12-31'), 0)
  FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD'
  

• What percentage of all cataloged on-orbit objects are debris (as opposed to payloads or rocket bodies) as of early July 2026?

  answer 36 ±10% · as of 2026-07-20 · debris · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * count(*) FILTER (WHERE object_type='DEBRIS') / count(*), 0)
  FROM satellite_catalog WHERE decay_date IS NULL
  

• How many cataloged objects of all types reentered the atmosphere during calendar year 2025?

  answer 1972 ±10% · as of 2026-07-21 · catalog · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE decay_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• How many rocket bodies are currently cataloged on orbit as of July 2026?

  answer 2212 ±10% · as of 2026-07-21 · debris · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='ROCKET BODY' AND decay_date IS NULL
  

• In which calendar year did more cataloged objects reenter the atmosphere: 2024 or 2025?

  answer 2024 · as of 2026-07-21 · catalog · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT CASE WHEN count(*) FILTER (WHERE decay_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31')
                 > count(*) FILTER (WHERE decay_date BETWEEN '2024-01-01' AND '2024-12-31')
              THEN '2025' ELSE '2024' END
  FROM satellite_catalog
  

• How many space-related FCC filings did Orbit Sentinel index for calendar year 2024?

  answer 20819 ±15% · as of 2026-07-21 · regulatory · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM filings WHERE source_agency='FCC' AND filed_date BETWEEN '2024-01-01' AND '2024-12-31'
  

• How many ITU space network filings did Orbit Sentinel index for calendar year 2025?

  answer 620 ±15% · as of 2026-07-21 · spectrum · research

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT count(*) FROM filings WHERE source_agency='ITU' AND filed_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• Which country operated more of the payloads launched during 2025: the United States or China?

  answer United States · as of 2026-07-21 · catalog · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT CASE WHEN count(*) FILTER (WHERE operator_country='US')
                 > count(*) FILTER (WHERE operator_country='PRC')
              THEN 'United States' ELSE 'China' END
  FROM satellite_catalog
  WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND launch_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'
  

• What percentage of all cataloged objects that reentered during 2025 were Starlink satellites?

  answer 34 ±15% · as of 2026-07-21 · constellation · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * count(*) FILTER (WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%' AND decay_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31')
         / count(*) FILTER (WHERE decay_date BETWEEN '2025-01-01' AND '2025-12-31'), 0)
  FROM satellite_catalog
  

• What percentage of cataloged payloads still on orbit (not reentered) are in geostationary orbit as of July 2026?

  answer 6.0 ±15% · as of 2026-07-21 · catalog · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * count(*) FILTER (WHERE orbit_class ILIKE 'GEO')
         / count(*), 1)
  FROM satellite_catalog WHERE object_type='PAYLOAD' AND decay_date IS NULL
  

• What percentage of all Starlink satellites ever cataloged have already reentered, as of July 2026?

  answer 13.3 ±10% · as of 2026-07-21 · constellation · derivation

  ground truth SQL

  SELECT round(100.0 * count(*) FILTER (WHERE decay_date IS NOT NULL) / count(*), 1)
  FROM satellite_catalog WHERE name ILIKE 'starlink%'
  

Reasoning set (55) — private by design

Category counts: control 4 · treaty 9 · spectrum 4 · regulatory 13 · catalog 6 · history 7 · debris 2 · orbital 10

• What is the NORAD catalog number of the International Space Station (the Zarya module)?

  catalog · recall · public example

• Approximately what is the orbital period, in minutes, of a satellite in a circular 550 km Earth orbit?

  orbital · derivation · public example

• Which US federal agency licenses private commercial remote-sensing satellite systems?

  regulatory · recall · public example

• Which NASA scientist lead-authored the 1978 paper predicting a self-sustaining cascade of collisions in low Earth orbit, a scenario now named after him?

  debris · recall · public example

• What is the escape velocity from Earth's surface, in km/s?

  orbital · recall · public example