Authentication Guide

All public API endpoints (except /health) require an API key. Two authentication methods are supported:

1) Header (recommended)

Include your key in the X-API-Key header (see Python examples below).

2) Query parameter (alternate)

Pass api_key as a query parameter when header injection is inconvenient (see Python examples below).

Common errors

• 401 Unauthorized: Missing or invalid API key.
• 429 Too Many Requests: Rate limit exceeded — see Rate Limits guide.

Best practices

• Prefer the header method for security and logging clarity.
• Never commit your API key to source control.
• Rotate keys regularly and report leaks immediately.

Python examples

Header (recommended):

Code
 
import requests

url = "https://api.mission.space/api/v1/solar-wind"
params = {
	"start_time": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"end_time": "2025-01-01T01:00:00Z",
}
headers = {"X-API-Key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}

resp = requests.get(url, params=params, headers=headers)
if resp.status_code == 401:
	raise SystemExit("Unauthorized: check your API key")
resp.raise_for_status()
print(resp.json())

Query parameter alternative:

Code
 
import requests

url = "https://api.mission.space/api/v1/solar-wind"
params = {
	"start_time": "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z",
	"end_time": "2025-01-01T01:00:00Z",
	"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
}

resp = requests.get(url, params=params)
resp.raise_for_status()
print(resp.json())