The Space Station Tracker shows where the International Space Station is right now and its path 90 minutes ago and 90 minutes ahead. This enables people on earth to know exactly when the Space Station passes above them, and when it is the best time to spot the Space station with the naked eye without any special equipment.
The Space Station is earth’s only microgravity laboratory. This football field-sized platform hosts a plethora of science and technology experiments that are continuously being conducted by crew members, or are automated. Research aboard the orbiting laboratory holds benefits for life back on earth, as well as for future space exploration. It serves as a test-bed for technologies and allows us to study the impacts of long-term spaceflight to humans, supporting NASA’s mission to push human presence farther into space.
The dark overlay on the Space Station Tracker indicates where it is night time in the world. The map of Earth below the tracker shows where the Space Station is flying directly above. This site also provide Sighting Opportunities and best times to spot the Space Station with the naked eye.
The best times to view the Space Station is at dusk. The space station is visible because it reflects the light of the Sun; the same reason we can see the Moon. However, unlike the Moon, the space station isn’t bright enough to see during the day. It can only be seen when it is dawn or dusk at your location.
As such, it can range from one sighting opportunity a month to several a week, since it has to be both dark where you are, and the space station has to happen to be going overhead. The Space Station travels around the earth at 28 000 km/h and the window of opportunity to see it, lasts only for around 6 minutes.
