Excel to YAML Converter for Satellite Data

A Python script that converts satellite asset data from an Excel file into a structured YAML format with proper hierarchical organization.

Description

This script reads satellite mission data from an Excel spreadsheet (specifically the EOAssetNameList worksheet) and converts it into a well-formatted YAML file. It organizes satellite data into a hierarchical structure:

Programs → Missions → Platforms → Instruments

The converter handles multiple instruments per platform, normalizes values, removes duplicates, and produces beautifully formatted YAML output with proper indentation and quoting.

Features

✨ Data Organization

• Hierarchical structure (Programs → Missions → Platforms → Instruments)
• Automatic deduplication of instruments
• Handles multiple instruments per platform

🎨 Formatting

• Proper 2-space indentation at each nesting level
• Quoted string values for clarity
• Unquoted keys following YAML conventions
• Blank lines between program blocks for readability

🔧 Data Cleaning

• Normalizes missing values to "unspecified"
• Corrects common typos (e.g., "unispecified" → "unspecified")
• Extracts instruments from multiple columns

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• pandas
• PyYAML

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/excel-to-yaml-converter.git
cd excel-to-yaml-converter

2. Install dependencies:

pip install pandas pyyaml

Usage

Basic Usage

python excelConverter.py <path_to_excel_file> <output_directory>

Example

python excelConverter.py ./data/eodata.xlsx ./output/

This will create EOassetNameList.yaml in the ./output/ directory.

Command Line Arguments

• <path_to_excel_file>: Path to the input Excel file containing the 'EOAssetNameList' worksheet
• <output_directory>: Directory where the YAML file will be saved

Input Format

The Excel file should have the following structure:

Column	Description
ProgramShortName	Satellite program identifier (e.g., "PROBA", "Copernicus")
missionName	Mission name (e.g., "Proba-V", "SENTINEL-1")
missionShortName	Mission abbreviation
platformName	Platform/satellite name
platformShortName	Platform abbreviation
platformAcronym	Platform acronym
alternativePlatformName	Alternative name for the platform
instrumentName	Primary instrument name
instrumentShortName	Primary instrument abbreviation
Additional instrument columns	Additional instruments (columns 10-20) and their short names (columns 22-32)

Output Format

The output YAML file follows this structure:

EOasset:
  - programShortName: "PROBA"
    missions:
      - missionName: "Proba-V"
        missionShortName: "PROBAV"
        platforms:
          - platformName: "Proba V"
            platformShortName: "PROBAV"
            platformAcronym: "PROBAV"
            alternativePlatformName: "unspecified"
            instruments:
              - instrumentName: "VEGETATION"
                instrumentShortName: "VEGETATION"

  - programShortName: "SPOT"
    missions:
      - missionName: "SPOT-4"
        missionShortName: "SPOT4"
        platforms:
          - platformName: "SPOT 4"
            platformShortName: "SPOT4"
            platformAcronym: "SPOT4"
            alternativePlatformName: "unspecified"
            instruments:
              - instrumentName: "VEGETATION"
                instrumentShortName: "VEGETATION"
              - instrumentName: "DORIS (SPOT)"
                instrumentShortName: "unspecified"

Output Statistics

The script prints a summary of the converted data:

YAML file created successfully: ./output/EOassetNameList.yaml

Data summary:
- Programs: 13
- Missions: 25
- Platforms: 39
- Instruments: 129

Examples

Convert a single file

python excelConverter.py ./data/satellites.xlsx ./output/

Using in a Python script

from excelConverter import excel_to_yaml

# Convert Excel to YAML
success = excel_to_yaml('./data/eodata.xlsx', './output/')

if success:
    print("Conversion completed successfully!")
else:
    print("Conversion failed. Check the error messages above.")

Error Handling

The script includes error handling for:

• Missing Excel files
• Invalid sheet names
• Missing or malformed columns
• File I/O errors

All errors are reported with descriptive messages to help identify and fix issues.

Testing

The script has been tested with satellite data including:

• PROBA, SPOT, EPS, Copernicus (Sentinel), MODIS, JPSS, GOES-R, MSG, Himawari, ENVISAT, DMSP, Suomi NPP, and GCOM-W programs

Troubleshooting

Issue: FileNotFoundError - Excel file not found

• Solution: Check the file path is correct and the file exists

Issue: KeyError - Expected column not found

• Solution: Verify the Excel sheet is named 'EOAssetNameList' and contains the required columns

Issue: Output file is empty

• Solution: Check that the Excel file contains data in the expected format

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to:

• Report bugs
• Suggest improvements
• Submit pull requests

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Author

Created and maintained as a data conversion utility for satellite mission data.

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Excel to YAML conversion with hierarchical structure
• Proper YAML formatting with quotes and indentation
• Instrument deduplication
• Value normalization