The Trench Server

MCP Server for controlling satellite ground station operations in the Trench simulation.

Available Tools

🛰️ Simulation State Tools

• get_simulation_state() - Get comprehensive simulation state including satellite position, contact status, and timing
• get_current_time() - Get current simulation time and real-world UTC time
• restart_simulation() - Restart simulation from beginning, resetting all state to epoch time

📡 Pass Management Tools

• get_all_passes() - Get complete schedule of all satellite passes over ground station
• get_next_pass() - Get information about next upcoming satellite pass
• get_current_pass() - Get information about currently active satellite pass (if any)

⏰ Timing and Waiting Tools

• wait_until_time(target_sim_time) - Wait until simulation reaches specific time (seconds since epoch)
• wait_for_next_pass() - Wait until next satellite pass begins (AOS)

📥 Downlink Control Tools

• start_downlink(kb_requested, max_minutes=10) - Start data downlink session during active pass
• stop_downlink() - Stop current data downlink session

🎯 Ground Station Control Tools

• get_ground_station_state(gs_id="DEMO-GS") - Get current antenna position and mode
• point_antenna(azimuth, elevation, gs_id="DEMO-GS") - Point antenna to specific angles
• track_satellite(sat_id="LEO-001", gs_id="DEMO-GS") - Start automatic satellite tracking
• stop_tracking(gs_id="DEMO-GS") - Stop satellite tracking, return to idle
• park_antenna(gs_id="DEMO-GS") - Park antenna in safe position

🏥 Health and Monitoring Tools

• get_satellite_health(sat_id="LEO-001") - Get satellite health and telemetry information

All tools use authenticated API calls with Bearer token authorization to interact with the Trench simulation API.

Usage with Claude Desktop

To use this server with the Claude Desktop app, add the following configuration to the "mcpServers" section of your claude_desktop_config.json:

Option 1: Direct installation from GitHub (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "trench-mcp-server": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "git+https://github.com/jasonmeverett/the-trench-mcp@main",
        "run-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "TRENCH_API_URL": "https://the-trench.ml-2cba638a-03a.eng-ml-i.svbr-nqvp.int.cldr.work/",
        "TRENCH_API_KEY": "<apiv2 key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Transport

The MCP server's transport protocol is configurable via the MCP_TRANSPORT environment variable. Supported values:

• stdio (default) — communicate over standard input/output. Useful for local tools, command-line scripts, and integrations with clients like Claude Desktop.
• http - expose an HTTP server. Useful for web-based deployments, microservices, exposing MCP over a network.
• sse — use Server-Sent Events (SSE) transport. Useful for existing web-based deployments that rely on SSE.