IO Aerospace MCP Server Details

IO Aerospace MCP Server is a production-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for aerospace and astrodynamics calculations. It exposes a rich set of tools for celestial body ephemeris, orbital mechanics, DSN ground station operations, solar system object properties, and comprehensive unit and time system conversions. Built on the IO Aerospace Astrodynamics framework, this server delivers core algorithms for ephemerides, geometry, and time systems, enabling developers to integrate advanced aerospace calculations into local or hosted deployments. The project supports both modern streamable-HTTP transport and legacy SSE/STDIO configurations, with self-hosting options via Docker or native .NET deployments for flexible integration into existing ecosystems.

Use Case

This MCP server provides a comprehensive suite of tools for aerospace missions and research. Users can query ephemerides, transform between reference frames, perform orbital element conversions, and compute coordinates for ground stations and deep-space networks. The server is designed to be consumed by MCP clients (e.g., Node.js SDKs or Claude Desktop) via streamable-HTTP or STDIO transports. Example usage with a hosted server includes listing available tools and calling a tool by name. For local development, you can run the STDIO server or the HTTP transport server and connect with a client. Key code snippets from the documentation illustrate how to connect to the hosted server and how to configure clients to use either STDIO or HTTP transports.

Code examples from the docs:

  • SSE example (legacy):

  • // Only use this if you have an old client that requires SSE
    const eventSource = new EventSource('https://mcp.io-aerospace.org/sse');

    eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
    console.log('message', event.data);
    };

    eventSource.onerror = (err) => {
    console.error('sse error', err);
    };


  • Node.js MCP client (streamable-HTTP) example:

  • import { Client } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js";
    import { HttpClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/transport/http.js";

    // Modern streamable-HTTP transport (recommended)
    const transport = new HttpClientTransport(new URL("https://mcp.io-aerospace.org"));
    const client = new Client(
    { name: "example-client", version: "1.0.0" },
    { capabilities: { tools: {}, prompts: {}, resources: {} } },
    transport
    );

    await client.connect();
    const tools = await client.listTools();
    console.log("Tools:", tools);

    // Example: call a tool
    // const result = await client.callTool({ name: "GetEphemerisAsStateVectors", arguments: { /<em> ... </em>/ } });
    // console.log(result);


  • Claude Desktop STDIO configuration (example):

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "command": "/path/to/Server.Stdio",
    "args": ["-k", "/path/to/kernels"]
    }
    }
    }

  • Claude Desktop STDIO with environment variable:

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "command": "/path/to/Server.Stdio",
    "args": [],
    "env": {
    "IO_DATA_DIR": "/path/to/kernels"
    }
    }
    }
    }

  • Claude Desktop HTTP transport to hosted server:

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "transport": {
    "type": "http",
    "url": "https://mcp.io-aerospace.org"
    }
    }
    }
    }

    Available Tools (37)

    Examples & Tutorials

    Real example usage patterns from the documentation:

  • SSE example (legacy):

  • // Only use this if you have an old client that requires SSE
    const eventSource = new EventSource('https://mcp.io-aerospace.org/sse');

    eventSource.onmessage = (event) => {
    console.log('message', event.data);
    };

    eventSource.onerror = (err) => {
    console.error('sse error', err);
    };


  • Node.js MCP client (streamable-HTTP) example:

  • import { Client } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/index.js";
    import { HttpClientTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/client/transport/http.js";

    // Modern streamable-HTTP transport (recommended)
    const transport = new HttpClientTransport(new URL("https://mcp.io-aerospace.org"));
    const client = new Client(
    { name: "example-client", version: "1.0.0" },
    { capabilities: { tools: {}, prompts: {}, resources: {} } },
    transport
    );

    await client.connect();
    const tools = await client.listTools();
    console.log("Tools:", tools);

    // Example: call a tool
    // const result = await client.callTool({ name: "GetEphemerisAsStateVectors", arguments: { /<em> ... </em>/ } });
    // console.log(result);


  • Claude Desktop STDIO configuration (STDIO):

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "command": "/path/to/Server.Stdio",
    "args": ["-k", "/path/to/kernels"]
    }
    }
    }

  • Claude Desktop STDIO configuration (ENV):

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "command": "/path/to/Server.Stdio",
    "args": [],
    "env": {
    "IO_DATA_DIR": "/path/to/kernels"
    }
    }
    }
    }

  • Claude Desktop HTTP transport to hosted server:

  • {
    "mcpServers": {
    "astrodynamics": {
    "transport": {
    "type": "http",
    "url": "https://mcp.io-aerospace.org"
    }
    }
    }
    }

    Installation Guide

    Step-by-step installation instructions with actual commands from the documentation:

  • Docker Development:

  • git clone https://github.com/IO-Aerospace-software-engineering/mcp-server
    cd mcp-server
    docker-compose up

    The HTTP server will be available at http://localhost:8080.
  • Production (Docker):

  • Copy docker-compose.prod.example.yml to docker-compose.prod.yml

  • Update the domain names in the production file

  • Ensure kernel data exists at ./data/solarsystem/

  • Deploy using the automated script:

  • ./deploy-production.sh

  • Native .NET Deployment:

  • Clone and Build:

  • git clone https://github.com/IO-Aerospace-software-engineering/mcp-server
    cd mcp-server
    dotnet build

  • Solar System Data Setup (STDIO):

  • ./Server.Stdio -k /path/to/kernels

  • Transport selection and HTTP server:

  • cd Server.Http
    dotnet run
    <h1 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-5 mb-3">Server available at http://localhost:8080</h1>

    Integration Guides

    Frequently Asked Questions

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    Repository Stats
    Important Notes

    Notes:

  • Modern MCP clients should use the base URL with streamable-HTTP transport. The SSE endpoint is legacy and kept for backward compatibility with older clients.

  • Self-hosting is optional; Docker and native .NET deployment are supported. Ensure SPICE kernels are available at the configured data path.

  • If you need to use the STDIO transport, provide the kernels path via CLI (-k) or IO_DATA_DIR environment variable.
  • Prerequisites

    Requirements before using this MCP (Node.js version, API keys, etc.) - from the docs: .NET 9.0 SDK or runtime; Docker (for containerized deployment); Solar system kernels data (SPICE kernels).

    Details
    Last Updated1/1/2026
    SourceGitHub

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