Without a telescope
Yes, easilyUnmistakable: magnitude −3.7 at its best, brighter than every star in the sky.
Satellites›Space stations›International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a crewed space station. Its first module was launched on November 20, 1998 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It is in a low orbit, 414 to 424 km above the ground, and goes around the Earth every 92.9 minutes: 15.5 times a day, at 7.66 km/s (27,600 km/h).
Where the International Space Station is right now
The gold ring is its orbit, and the line drops to the point on the ground under it. Inside the white circle it is above the horizon. Drag the globe to turn it, pinch or use the buttons to come closer; the target button brings you back to the satellite. The 2D map shows its path over the ground for the next lap: gold where it is in sunlight, dashed where it is in Earth’s shadow.
Finding the International Space Station…
International Space Station
Finding the International Space Station…
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About the International Space Station
The largest thing people have built in space: about 109 metres from end to end and some 420 tonnes, put together in orbit over more than a decade. Its first module, Zarya, went up in November 1998, and it has had a crew aboard without a break since November 2000. The United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada run it together. Its solar arrays are why it is the brightest satellite in the sky.
Can you see it?
From where
It passes straight overhead only between latitudes 52° north and 52° south, and rises above the horizon as far as about 71°. Nearer the poles than that it is never in the sky.
A satellite shows only when your sky is dark and it is still in sunlight: in the hours after dusk and before dawn.
When it passes over you
The site works out the next visible passes of the space station for any place, with the time and the direction to look.
The facts
- Catalogue number (NORAD)
- 25544
- International designator
- 1998-067A
- Name in the catalogue
- ISS (ZARYA)
- Type
- Satellite
- Belongs to
- The International Space Station partners
- Launched
- November 20, 1998
- Launched from
- Baikonur, Kazakhstan
- Status
- Operational
- Orbit
- Low Earth orbit
- Lowest point
- 414 km
- Highest point
- 424 km
- Tilt to the equator
- 51.6°
- One lap
- 92.9 minutes
- Laps a day
- 15.49
- Speed
- 7.66 km/s
- At its brightest
- mag −3.7 estimated, overhead
- Standard brightness
- mag −1.8 from 1,000 km, half lit
- Size on radar
- 399 m²
Orbit measured November 13, 2026, from CelesTrak. Heights are above the ground at the equator. Page updated November 14, 2026.
Quick answers
Where is the International Space Station right now?
The map on this page shows where the International Space Station is at this moment, the path it will follow over the ground for the next lap, and the part of the Earth it is above the horizon for. It is worked out from the latest tracking data.
How high is the International Space Station?
Between 414 km at its lowest and 424 km at its highest, above the ground.
How fast does the International Space Station go?
About 7.66 km/s, which is 27,600 km/h. One lap of the Earth takes it 92.9 minutes, so it goes around 15.5 times a day.
Can you see the International Space Station without a telescope?
Yes, easily. Unmistakable: magnitude −3.7 at its best, brighter than every star in the sky.
When was the International Space Station launched?
Its first module was launched on November 20, 1998, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
With the app
Knowing where it is over the Earth is one thing. The app shows you where it is in your sky.
This page follows the satellite around the planet. The app works out when it passes over you, and leads you to it.
- Every pass over your exact location, for this satellite and 10,000+ more.
- An alert before it rises, so you are outside in time.
- An arrow in the camera view that leads you to the exact spot in the sky.
- Starlink trains, Tiangong, Hubble and the brightest satellites of tonight.