The International Space Station circles the Earth about every 92 minutes, some 400 km up, at nearly 28,000 km/h: sixteen orbits a day. Its orbit is tilted 51.6° to the equator, so it flies over every place between about 52° north and 52° south. The map below shows where it is right now and the path its next orbit will trace over the ground. Because the Earth turns beneath it, each orbit passes farther west. Seen from the ground, the station is often the brightest moving point in the sky, but only when it is lit by the Sun while your sky is dark, shortly after sunset or before sunrise.
Where is the International Space Station now?
Computing…
Ground track
Where International Space Station (ISS) is now (marker), its next orbit (solid line) and its last half orbit (faded); the shaded area is in night.
Your location
Give your location to see where you are on the map and in the 3D view, and when International Space Station (ISS) passes over you.
Used only in your browser, never sent. Rounded to about 1 km and kept in this browser until you forget it.
About International Space Station (ISS)
- Agency
- NASA / Roscosmos / ESA / JAXA / CSA
- Launched
- 1998-11-20
Goals
The station exists to let people live and work in space continuously, so that scientists can run experiments impossible on the ground, where weightlessness changes how bodies, fluids, flames and materials behave. It also tests the technologies and studies the health effects needed for long journeys to the Moon and Mars, and shows that many nations can build and run a complex project together.
Today
Permanently crewed since November 2000, the station hosts research in biology, physics, materials and Earth observation. Its first module, Zarya, was launched on 20 November 1998.
Questions and answers
How fast does the ISS go?
About 7.7 km per second, or nearly 28,000 km/h: fast enough to go around the Earth in about an hour and a half.
Can I see the ISS with my own eyes?
Yes, on many evenings and mornings. Use “My location” on this page: Perigee lists its next passes over you and marks those that are visible, when the station is sunlit while your sky is dark.
How many people live on the ISS?
Usually seven, sometimes more during crew changes. It has been occupied without a break since November 2000.
Where the numbers come from
Values refresh every second in your browser; the published data are checked every 10 minutes and updated several times a day.