How to use SQLAlchemy ORM to access SpaceX Data in Python

The rich ecosystem of Python modules lets you get to work quickly and integrate your systems effectively. With the CData API Driver for Python and the SQLAlchemy toolkit, you can build SpaceX-connected Python applications and scripts. This article shows how to use SQLAlchemy to connect to SpaceX data to query SpaceX data.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData Python Connector offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SpaceX data in Python. When you issue complex SQL queries from SpaceX, the CData Connector pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SpaceX and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations).

Connecting to SpaceX Data

Connecting to SpaceX data looks just like connecting to any relational data source. Create a connection string using the required connection properties. For this article, you will pass the connection string as a parameter to the create_engine function.

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the SpaceX Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for SpaceX (see below).

SpaceX API Profile Settings

No authentication is required to access SpaceX data — the SpaceX API is publicly available. Simply set the Profile connection property to the path of the SpaceX profile file.

Follow the procedure below to install SQLAlchemy and start accessing SpaceX through Python objects.

Install Required Modules

Use the pip utility to install the SQLAlchemy toolkit and SQLAlchemy ORM package:

pip install sqlalchemy
pip install sqlalchemy.orm

Be sure to import the appropriate modules:

from sqlalchemy import create_engine, String, Column
from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker

Model SpaceX Data in Python

You can now connect with a connection string. Use the create_engine function to create an Engine for working with SpaceX data.

NOTE: Users should URL encode the any connection string properties that include special characters. For more information, refer to the SQL Alchemy documentation.

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip")

Declare a Mapping Class for SpaceX Data

After establishing the connection, declare a mapping class for the table you wish to model in the ORM (in this article, we will model the Capsules table). Use the sqlalchemy.ext.declarative.declarative_base function and create a new class with some or all of the fields (columns) defined.

base = declarative_base()
class Capsules(base):
	__tablename__ = "Capsules"
	CapsuleSerial = Column(String,primary_key=True)
	CapsuleId = Column(String)
	...

Query SpaceX Data

With the mapping class prepared, you can use a session object to query the data source. After binding the Engine to the session, provide the mapping class to the session query method.

Using the query Method

engine = create_engine("api:///?Profile=C:\profiles\SpaceX.apip")
factory = sessionmaker(bind=engine)
session = factory()
for instance in session.query(Capsules).filter_by(Status="active"):
	print("CapsuleSerial: ", instance.CapsuleSerial)
	print("CapsuleId: ", instance.CapsuleId)
	print("---------")

Alternatively, you can use the execute method with the appropriate table object. The code below works with an active session.

Using the execute Method

Capsules_table = Capsules.metadata.tables["Capsules"]
for instance in session.execute(Capsules_table.select().where(Capsules_table.c.Status == "active")):
	print("CapsuleSerial: ", instance.CapsuleSerial)
	print("CapsuleId: ", instance.CapsuleId)
	print("---------")

For examples of more complex querying, including JOINs, aggregations, limits, and more, refer to the Help documentation for the extension.

Free Trial & More Information

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData API Driver for Python to start building Python apps and scripts with connectivity to SpaceX data. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.