EarthBrowserLive · International Space Station
Where is the ISS right now?
The International Space Station's position over Earth, updated every second on a live 3D globe, with its altitude, speed and the next time it will pass over you.
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The full globe adds thousands of other satellites, the station's ground track for the next orbits, and the sun's terminator so you can see where it is in daylight.
When will the ISS pass over me?
How to spot the station
The ISS is visible without a telescope because it is big (about the size of a football field) and its solar arrays reflect sunlight. You need two things at once: a dark sky where you are and sunlight on the station, 400 km up. That overlap exists for an hour or two after sunset and before sunrise, which is why every visible pass is at dusk or dawn.
It appears as a bright, steady point moving at about the speed of a high airliner, taking two to six minutes to cross the sky from west to east. It never blinks: anything flashing is an aircraft. The brightest passes peak high overhead and can outshine every star; a pass that peaks at 10 or 20 degrees stays low and faint. Passes often end abruptly as the station slides into Earth's shadow and fades out mid-sky.
About the International Space Station
The ISS is the largest structure humans have put in space, assembled in orbit from 1998 onward by NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency. It has been continuously crewed since November 2000.
| Orbital altitude | ≈ 400–420 km (250–260 mi), slowly decaying between reboosts |
|---|---|
| Orbital speed | ≈ 7.66 km/s · 27,600 km/h · 17,100 mph |
| Orbital period | ≈ 92–93 minutes · about 15.5 orbits per day |
| Inclination | 51.6°, so it passes over latitudes between about 52° N and 52° S |
| Size | 109 m × 73 m (358 ft × 240 ft) including solar arrays |
| Mass | ≈ 420 tonnes |
| First module | Zarya, launched 20 November 1998 |
| Catalog | NORAD 25544 · International designator 1998-067A |
Frequently asked questions
How fast does the ISS travel?
About 7.66 km per second, roughly 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph). At that speed it circles Earth once every 92 to 93 minutes, about 15.5 orbits a day, and its crew sees 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.
How high is the ISS?
The station orbits between about 400 and 420 km (250 to 260 miles) above the surface. Thin atmospheric drag lowers it by roughly 2 km a month, so visiting spacecraft periodically boost it back up.
Can I see the ISS with the naked eye?
Yes. It is the third-brightest object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. You can see it when your sky is dark but the station is still lit by the sun, which happens within a couple of hours after sunset or before sunrise. It looks like a bright, steady, fast-moving star that does not blink.
How often does the ISS pass over me?
Its 51.6° orbit takes it over everywhere between about 52° N and 52° S several times a day, but most passes happen in daylight or in Earth's shadow. Visible passes typically come in runs of several days, a few weeks apart.
Why does the position on the map keep moving?
The station moves about 7.7 km every second, and Earth rotates underneath it. Each orbit's ground track is shifted about 22.5° of longitude west of the last one, which is why the path looks like a wave that slides westward through the day.
Where does the live ISS position come from?
From the station's published orbital elements (NORAD general perturbations data via CelesTrak), propagated with the SGP4 model in your browser. The same data drives the satellite layer on the EarthBrowser globe.