Get real-time international space station visibility alerts with N2YO and Telegram

Workflow Execution Video: https://youtu.be/VV4D2aiFXsY

Prerequisites & Setup

Before you begin, you need to gather a few key pieces of information:

1. N2YO API Key:
   • Go to https://www.n2yo.com/login/register/ and create a free account.
   • Once registered, find and copy your API key. This key is used to request satellite data.
   • Replace the enter-longitude, enter-latitude, enter-your-api-key in http node URL.
2. Telegram Bot Credentials:
   • You need a Telegram bot. You can create one by talking to the BotFather on Telegram.
   • Bot Token: BotFather will give you a unique authorization token. This is like a password for your bot.
   • Chat ID: You need the ID of the chat where the bot will send messages. You can get this by sending a message to your bot and then visiting https://api.telegram.org/bot<YourBOTToken>/getUpdates. Look for the chat -> id value in the response.
3. Your Location Coordinates:
   • Visit https://www.maps.ie/coordinates.html.
   • Find your location on the map.
   • Copy your Latitude and Longitude values.

Node-by-Node Explanation

This workflow is composed of five nodes that execute in a sequence.

1. Schedule Trigger Node

• Node Name: Schedule Trigger
• Purpose: This is the starting point of the workflow. It's designed to run automatically at a specific, recurring interval.
• Configuration: The node is set to trigger every 30 minutes. This means the entire sequence of actions will be initiated twice every hour.

2. HTTP Request Node

• Node Name: HTTP Request
• Purpose: This node is responsible for fetching data from an external source on the internet.
• Configuration: It sends a request to the N2YO API URL: https://api.n2yo.com/rest/v1/satellite/visualpasses/25544/...
  • The numbers 25544 represent the NORAD ID for the International Space Station (ISS).
  • You must replace enter-longitude, enter-latitude, and enter-your-api-key with the actual coordinates and API key you gathered during the setup.
  • The result of this request is a block of data (in JSON format) containing information about upcoming satellite passes.

3. Code Node

• Node Name: Readable
• Purpose: This node uses JavaScript to process and reformat the raw data received from the HTTP Request node.
• Configuration: The JavaScript code performs several actions:
  • It extracts the details of the next upcoming satellite pass.
  • It contains functions to convert timestamp numbers into human-readable dates and times (e.g., "10th October 2025, 14:30 UTC").
  • It calculates the time remaining until the pass begins (e.g., "in 2h 15m").
  • Finally, it constructs a formatted text message (alert) and calculates the number of minutes until the pass begins (timeinminutes), passing both pieces of information to the next node.

4. If Node

• Node Name: If
• Purpose: This node acts as a gatekeeper. It checks if a specific condition is met before allowing the workflow to continue.
• Configuration: It checks the timeinminutes value that was calculated in the previous Code node.
  • The condition is: Is timeinminutes less than or equal to 600?
  • If the condition is true (the pass is 600 minutes or less away), the data is passed to the next node through the "true" output.
  • If the condition is false, the workflow stops.

5. Telegram Node

• Node Name: Send a text message
• Purpose: This node sends a message to your specified Telegram chat.
• Configuration:
  • It is configured with your Telegram bot's credentials.
  • The Chat ID is set to the specific chat you want the message to appear in.
  • The content of the text message is taken directly from the alert variable created by the Code node. This means it will send the fully formatted message about the upcoming ISS pass.