I'm doing a project to calculate vector positions of a satellite using the package sgp4. Given an input file, it's supposed to spit out a position vector in metres from the centre of the earth. However, in the example given, and in all outputs I have seen, the x, y, and z values are always in the thousands of metres range, which means that the satellites are buried far below the Earth's surface. I have tried on the assumption that they meant kilometres, and on the assumption that they meant from the surface rather than the centre, to no more meaningful results. Does anyone know what the numbers in the position vector represent?
Sample output vector: [5576.056952400586, -3999.371134576452, -1521.9571594376037]
The units are in kilometers. The python package documents indicating that the units are in meters is incorrect.
Given the mean earth radius is 6371 km, the numbers you show indicate an altitude of about 657 km above the earth's surface. Why don't you believe this is meaningful?