Priorities for satellite observations

r2cloud has the capability to monitor and track a multitude of satellites using various hardware devices. However, the number of devices available is typically fewer than the number of observations required. As a result, a system of prioritization is essential. There are three main types of priorities supported:

• High Priority: Satellites falling into this category are scheduled with the highest priority, occupying all available slots in the schedule. Newly launched satellites automatically receive high priority.
• Manual Priority: Users can manually specify the order in which satellites are tracked, allowing for personalized prioritization. Further details on this process are provided below.
• Normal Priority: All other satellites fall into this category and are scheduled based on their NORAD ID.

To manually prioritize satellite observations, users have the option to assign priorities via a file or a URL. For file-based prioritization, individuals can edit the file at ~/r2cloud/data/priorities.txt and list the NORAD IDs, with each NORAD ID on a separate line. For example:

40069
33591
28654

Additionally, r2cloud supports accessing a priority list from an external URL. If the configuration file at ~/.r2cloud contains the following setup:

satellites.priority.url=https://example.com/priorities.txt

r2cloud will periodically reload priorities from the provided URL, with the frequency of reloads specified in the file at ~/.r2cloud:

satellites.priority.periodMillis=3600000

The response from the URL should contain a list of NORAD IDs in the desired order, for instance:

40069
33591
28654