Track the International Space Station in real-time. Position, altitude, speed & distance from you.
Track the International Space Station in real time as it orbits Earth at 27,600 km/h. The ISS completes about 16 orbits per day, meaning crew members see 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.
Commendation Slot
Mission Patch · Coming Phase 2
Complete this simulator to earn a custom patch on your Cadet Record.
Sky Calendar
Every sky event this year — moon phases, eclipses, meteor showers, planet oppositions.
BeginOrbital Speed
Enter altitude → orbital velocity, period, sunrises per day.
BeginSpace Sounds
Hear pulsars, Saturn's rings, Jupiter's magnetosphere. Mix and layer cosmic sounds.
BeginThe International Space Station orbits Earth at about 27,600 km/h (17,150 mph), or 7.66 km/s. At that speed it completes one orbit every 92 minutes — roughly 16 orbits per day — and the crew sees 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.
The ISS orbits between 370 and 460 km above Earth's surface, in what is called Low Earth Orbit. Atmospheric drag steadily lowers the altitude, so visiting Russian Progress and US Cygnus craft periodically reboost the station to maintain its orbit.
The ISS is visible to the naked eye when it passes overhead during twilight (just after sunset or before sunrise) and the station is illuminated by the Sun while you are in darkness. The tracker shows upcoming visible passes for your location, including direction, peak altitude and duration — usually 2–6 minutes per pass.
The ISS typically hosts a crew of 6 or 7 astronauts and cosmonauts at any given time, drawn from NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA. Crew sizes briefly increase to 10+ during handover periods when SpaceX Crew Dragon and Soyuz capsules overlap.
More tools to explore next