International Space Station
LIVE Real-time SGP4 position · one complete orbit · local sighting predictions
Set your location to calculate passes using sunlight, Earth shadow, and sky-darkness checks.
- Latitude
- —
- Longitude
- —
- Altitude
- —
- Speed
- —
- Azimuth
- Set location
- Elevation
- Set location
Use the interactive tracker above to follow the International Space Station (ISS) on a 2D map or 3D globe, view one complete calculated orbit, inspect live-updating position values, and check whether an upcoming pass may be visible from your location. The page is designed around the tracker first, with the guide below explaining what the numbers mean and how to use them.
How to use the ISS live tracker
The tracker propagates the latest available orbital elements and updates the displayed ISS position continuously in your browser. Use Follow station to keep the ISS centered, One orbit to show a complete revolution, and Visibility area to display the radio-horizon footprint. On supported devices you can switch between the 2D map and the 3D globe.
For local sighting predictions, enter your latitude and longitude or use device location. The pass calculator checks the station’s geometry relative to your observer position and applies sunlight and sky-darkness tests before marking a pass as optically visible.
What the position and visibility data means
- Latitude and longitude show the calculated sub-satellite point on Earth.
- Altitude and speed are derived from the propagated orbit, not from a direct telemetry feed from the spacecraft.
- Azimuth and elevation are observer-dependent and become useful after you set your location.
- Visible-pass results require both favorable geometry and lighting; cloud, haze and local light pollution are not measured by this page.
The ISS can often be seen without a telescope when it is above your horizon, illuminated by the Sun, and your local sky is dark enough. NASA’s Spot the Station service provides additional official viewing guidance.
How the orbital calculation works
The tracker uses current GP/OMM orbital elements supplied through CelesTrak and propagates them with the SGP4 model. This is the standard approach for calculating positions from public orbital elements. Because the source elements have an epoch and are refreshed periodically, the page also shows source freshness so you can distinguish a current calculation from delayed data.
NASA notes that the ISS travels in a 51.6-degree inclination orbit and completes about 16 orbits each day. The live tracker is therefore most useful as a continuously changing calculated position and pass-planning tool rather than a static location page.
Related space trackers
Continue with the Tiangong live tracker, explore the Starlink satellite map, or use Satellites Above Me Tonight to look for other objects that may cross your sky.
Where is the ISS right now?
The International Space Station is constantly moving around Earth, so its latitude, longitude, altitude and viewing geometry change from minute to minute. The live tracker above calculates the ISS position from current orbital elements and updates the displayed location in your browser. For most visitors, the easiest way to use this page is to first watch the station on the map, then set an observer location to check whether a pass may be visible from home.
The ISS is a low-Earth-orbit spacecraft rather than a fixed point in the sky. NASA describes the station as orbiting roughly 250 miles above Earth and travelling about 17,500 miles per hour, completing an orbit in about 90 minutes. Its exact altitude varies because atmospheric drag slowly lowers the orbit and periodic reboost maneuvers raise it again. For official station facts and mission information, visit NASA's ISS Facts and Figures.
Can I see the ISS from my location tonight?
An ISS pass is not automatically a visible pass. The station has to be above your local horizon, high enough in the sky to be practical to observe, illuminated by sunlight, and viewed against a sufficiently dark sky. That is why a pass around sunset or before sunrise can be much easier to see than a pass in the middle of the day. Local cloud, haze, buildings and light pollution can still prevent a sighting even when the orbital geometry is favorable.
Use the location controls above to calculate passes for your coordinates. If you want an additional official viewing reference, NASA's Spot the Station service provides ISS sighting information. You can also compare the ISS with China's crewed station on our Tiangong live tracker, or check several bright objects together with Satellites Above Me Tonight.
What do altitude, speed, azimuth and elevation mean?
Altitude is the station's height above Earth's surface in the orbital model. Speed is the propagated orbital velocity. Azimuth tells you the compass direction of the station from your selected location, while elevation tells you how high it is above your horizon. An elevation close to 0° is near the horizon; a much larger elevation places the object higher in the sky.
The latitude and longitude shown on the tracker are the station's calculated sub-satellite point: the location on Earth's surface directly below the ISS at that instant. They do not mean that the spacecraft is at ground level above that city or country. The station continues moving several kilometers every second, so the point beneath it changes continuously.
How accurate is this ISS tracker?
This page uses public general-perturbations orbital data and SGP4 propagation rather than a direct telemetry feed from the spacecraft. CelesTrak explains that GP data are designed to be used with the SGP4 propagator and are periodically refreshed as new observations become available. You can read the technical background in the CelesTrak GP data documentation.
For ordinary skywatching, recently refreshed orbital elements are generally useful for predicting where a low-Earth-orbit object should be. Predictions become less reliable as the source elements age or after an orbit-changing maneuver. This is why the tracker exposes source freshness instead of presenting calculated numbers as direct spacecraft telemetry.
ISS, Tiangong and other satellites: what is different?
The ISS and Tiangong are both crewed space stations in low Earth orbit, but they are separate spacecraft with different orbital planes and schedules. Starlink, by contrast, is a large constellation of individual satellites, so a Starlink map can contain thousands of selectable objects instead of a single station. Hubble is also in low Earth orbit, but it is an astronomical observatory rather than a crewed station.
Continue exploring with the Hubble Space Telescope live tracker or the Starlink satellite tracker. If your main question is simply what may cross your local sky tonight, the satellites above me tool is the better starting point.
Frequently asked questions about tracking the ISS
Does the ISS stay above the same place?
No. The ISS circles Earth repeatedly and its ground track moves across different latitudes and longitudes on each orbit.
Is the live map direct video from the ISS?
No. The map is a calculated orbital-position display. It uses orbital data and mathematical propagation to estimate the station's current location.
Why can the ISS disappear even during a good pass?
The station may enter Earth's shadow and stop reflecting sunlight toward the observer. Clouds, haze or an obstructed horizon can also end a sighting.