A record is only as good as its sources.

Source, observation, retrieval

Every information record links to its source. Reference collections are curated and never labeled live. Connected records are normalized through an API gateway and cached to respect provider limits.

Freshness is explicit

A retrieval timestamp indicates when the archive fetched a record. A measurement timestamp indicates when an observation was made. Cached records reuse a previous retrieval. If a refresh fails, the last available record is labeled stale. No generated values replace a failed feed.

Measurement conventions

Numerical references are rounded. The planetary rotation period is sidereal, not the solar day. Moon orbital periods refer to their parent planet. Gas giants have no solid surface. Approximate exoplanet radius classes do not establish composition. Some exoplanet masses are minimum masses or estimates.

Coverage and limits

Launch statuses describe launch outcomes, not a spacecraft’s ongoing health. Unknown parameters are omitted. The free Launch Library API has a small request allowance; source rate limits may temporarily delay results.