Space Station Viewing

Live video from the international space station includes internal views when the crew is on duty and earth views at other times.

Space station viewing. This map shows the ground track of the international space station s next orbit. The red sections mark when the iss is sunlit. The crosshair marks its current position.

The space station is visible for a long distance around each of the listed locations. The following sighting information is published by the johnson space center flight design division orbit flight dynamics group. Visible to the naked eye it looks like a fast moving plane only much higher and traveling thousands of miles an hour faster.

Watch the international space station pass overhead from several thousand worldwide locations. It will be clear and a little chilly 50s. Several times a week mission control at nasa s johnson space center in houston tx determines sighting opportunities for over 6 700 locations worldwide.

The international space station will appear like a fast moving plane with a very bright steady light but no blinking lights. Sites are chosen in order to provide a representation of the world s demographic distribution. It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up.

Track the location of the international space station in real time. If your specific city or town isn t listed pick one that is fairly close to you. Get the latest news images videos and more from humanity s home in orbit the international space station.

See the plotted paths of past present and future orbits all from a single page. The blue sections of the iss track indicate when the space station is in the earth s shadow. Also wear pants and a sweatshirt for comfort if you plan to be out longer than 10 minutes.