First post, by akula65
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Source: https://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/predict.html
PREDICT is an open-source, multi-user satellite tracking and orbital prediction program written under the Linux operating system by John A. Magliacane, KD2BD. PREDICT is free software. Users may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 2 of the License or any later version.
* PREDICT v3.0 Has Been Released! * […]
* PREDICT v3.0 Has Been Released! *
Due to the tremendous escalation in the number of satellite launches that have been taking place, the world officially ran out of 5-digit satellite catalog numbers on July 11, 2026, thereby rendering the format of the traditional Two-Line Keplerian Element Sets (TLEs) obsolete for future satellites.
As a consequence of this historic change, PREDICT Version 3.0 accepts Keplerian orbital data expressed in Comma Separated Value (CSV), Keyword Value Notion (KVN), JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) (in either "compact" or "pretty" formats), eXtensible Markup Language (XML), and traditional 2-Line Element Set (TLE) format, for as long as it remains available. Users will still be able to enter Keplerian orbital data parameters into PREDICT via the built-in keyboard editor, and new in PREDICT Version 3.0 is an auto-update feature that automatically downloads the latest orbital data for your satellites of interest when PREDICT is started. In addition, PREDICT Version 3.0 also supports AZ/EL antenna and telescope rotators using Hamlib's TCP-based rotator control daemon.
Also included in this new software release is an improved version of MoonTracker that will track not only the Moon, but the Sun as well, and it will track the Moon with greater accuracy than ever before. Like PREDICT, MoonTracker will accurately steer a Hamlib-supported antenna or telescope AZ/EL rotator, and start moving it into position two minutes before AOS so you won't miss the beginning of a pass.
Also, W5ITR has put together a site describing which software tools have been updated to accommodate the move away from TLEs.