Connect to NASA Data in RazorSQL

The CData JDBC Driver for NASA enables standards-based access from third-party tools, from wizards in IDEs to data management and analysis tools. This article shows how to connect to NASA using wizards in RazorSQL.

Create a JDBC Data Source for NASA Data

1. Open the RazorSQL application and, in the Connections menu, select Add Connection Profile -> Other -> JDBC.
2. In the Connection Wizard that appears, set the following properties:
   • Driver Location: Set this property to the path to the lib subfolder in the installation directory.
   • Driver Class: Set the driver class to cdata.jdbc.api.APIDriver.
   • Username: Enter the username. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)
   • Password: Enter the password. (This property can also be set in the JDBC URL.)

   • JDBC URL: Enter connection parameters. The JDBC URL begins with jdbc:api: and is followed by a semicolon-separated list of connection properties.

     Using API Key Authentication

     Most NASA API endpoints (APOD, NeoWS, DONKI, TechTransfer) require a NASA API key. Register for a free key at https://api.nasa.gov. The default DEMO_KEY provides limited access (30 requests/hour, 50 requests/day); a registered key allows 1,000 requests/hour.

     The following endpoints do not require an API key and work without authentication: EONET (Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker), EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera), NASA Image and Video Library, and TechPort.

     After obtaining your API key, set the following connection properties:

     • AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
     • APIKey: Set this to your NASA API key. Use DEMO_KEY for limited testing.

     Example Connection String

     Profile=C:\profiles\NASA.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY
     

     Connecting to NASA

     Once the authentication is configured, you can connect to NASA and query data from any of the available tables such as AstronomyPictureOfDay, NearEarthObjectFeed, EonetEvents, and NasaImageLibrary.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the NASA JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.api.jar
     

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     👁 Using the built-in connection string designer to generate a JDBC URL (Salesforce is shown.)
     

     A typical JDBC URL is the following:

     jdbc:api:Profile=C:\profiles\NASA.apip;AuthScheme=APIKey;APIKey=YOUR_NASA_API_KEY

Query NASA Data and Select Tables

After establishing a connection, the wizard will close and the connection will be available in the connections panel. You can then query the tables.