ISS Tracker — Data Architecture
What the International Space Station is and how visible passes work is shown as reference. Live position and pass predictions are prepared for orbital-element data and an observer location — no position is ever fabricated.
The International Space Station
The International Space Station orbits Earth about every 90 minutes at roughly 400 km altitude, travelling near 28,000 km/h.
The ISS is visible to the naked eye when it catches sunlight against a dark sky — usually within a couple of hours of sunrise or sunset. It appears as a bright, steady 'star' gliding silently across the sky over a few minutes, not blinking like an aircraft.
Related in the Knowledge Graph
Sources & references
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- CelesTrakCelesTrak (Dr. T. S. Kelso)
Two-line orbital elements (TLEs) for satellites including the ISS, used with a propagator to predict passes.