Live position
Where is the International Space Station today?
As of , the time of our satellite data, the International Space Station was at 3.9° N, 150.0° W, 418 km up, computed with the SGP4 model from CelesTrak's element set of , which was 8.5 hours old at the data time.
What this means
- At the data time the ISS was at 3.9 degrees north, 150.0 degrees west, 418 km up.
- On the computed track, the next place in our list it passes within 300 km of is Adamstown, 9 minutes after the data time (217 km from the track).
- It goes round the Earth in 93.0 minutes, and after one orbit the computed track is 23 degrees of longitude further west, because the Earth turns beneath it.
- Of 21 passes over the six cities in the 24 hours after the data time, 2 are sunlit while the sky is dark; the first is over Sydney at 04:10 local time (17:10 UTC), up to 24 degrees.
- The highest of them is over London, 82 degrees up at 14:09 local time, lasting 7 min above 10 degrees.
- 3.9° N, 150.0° WPosition at the data time
- 418 kmHeight at the data time
- 93.0 minTime for one orbit
- 2Passes over the six cities sunlit in a dark sky, next 24 hours
See also: all six cities, tonight's sky in Pune, tonight's sky in New York, tonight's sky in London, tonight's sky in Tromsø, tonight's sky in Tokyo, tonight's sky in Sydney, aurora tonight, all live numbers right now, Moon phases, planet events, meteor showers.
Where is the ISS going?
| Time (UTC) | Minutes from the data time | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03:26 | -45 | 0.5° N | 44.9° E |
| 03:41 | -30 | 42.3° N | 86.3° E |
| 03:56 | -15 | 44.5° N | 166.1° E |
| 04:11 | 0 | 3.9° N | 150.0° W |
| 04:26 | +15 | 39.1° S | 111.0° W |
| 04:41 | +30 | 47.1° S | 32.5° W |
| 04:56 | +45 | 8.4° S | 14.9° E |
| 05:11 | +60 | 35.4° N | 51.9° E |
| 05:26 | +75 | 49.2° N | 128.2° E |
| 05:41 | +90 | 12.7° N | 179.9° E |
The track reaches 51.8° from the equator, close to the orbit's inclination of 51.63°. The first place in our list of 34,152 towns and cities that it passes within 300 km of is Adamstown, 9 minutes after the data time.
The ISS orbit
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Inclination to the equator | 51.63° |
| Orbits per day | 15.49 |
| Time for one orbit | 93.0 minutes |
| Height over the next orbit | 418 to 435 km, 427 km on average |
| Eccentricity | 0.00069 |
| Element set time | |
| Age of the element set at the data time | 8.5 hours |
Heights are above the WGS84 ellipsoid, the Earth's standard shape, worked out every 30 seconds over the orbit after the data time.
When does the ISS pass over the six cities?
Passes at least 10° above the horizon in the 24 hours after the data time, for the six cities of our cloud forecast pages. A pass can be seen only when it is sunlit while the sky is dark; the last column gives that part.
Pune
| Rises above 10° | Highest | Drops below 10° | Sunlit while the sky is dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| , 33° in the northeast | No | ||
| , 14° in the southeast | No | ||
| , 24° in the northwest | No |
New York
| Rises above 10° | Highest | Drops below 10° | Sunlit while the sky is dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| , 21° in the southeast | No | ||
| , 47° in the north-northwest | No | ||
| , 15° in the north | No | ||
| , 14° in the north | No | ||
| , 36° in the north-northeast | No | ||
| , 29° in the southwest | No |
London
| Rises above 10° | Highest | Drops below 10° | Sunlit while the sky is dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| , 34° in the south-southeast | No | ||
| , 81° in the east-southeast | No | ||
| , 82° in the southwest | No | ||
| , 30° in the south-southwest | No |
Tromsø
No pass at least 10° up in the 24 hours after the data time.
Tokyo
| Rises above 10° | Highest | Drops below 10° | Sunlit while the sky is dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| , 19° in the north-northeast | No | ||
| , 49° in the southwest | No | ||
| , 22° in the southeast | No | ||
| , 31° in the north-northwest | No |
Sydney
| Rises above 10° | Highest | Drops below 10° | Sunlit while the sky is dark |
|---|---|---|---|
| , 10° in the northeast | No | ||
| , 57° in the south-southwest | No | ||
| , 27° in the southeast | Yes, to , up to 24° | ||
| , 24° in the northwest | Yes, to , up to 24° |
How this page is made
- Positions are computed, not observed: CelesTrak's element set for the ISS (NORAD catalogue number 25544) is run through the SGP4 model with the satellite.js library, the same code as the live app. We have not measured how far these positions drift from the real ISS as the element set ages; the age is shown above.
- This page is a snapshot at the data time. The real-time view is the live globe.
- The live copy of this page is published only when the satellite data is less than 30 hours old and the ISS element set less than 7 days old. A copy built when the site is deployed uses the data bundled with the site, which can be older than that; it then says so at the top, and the live copy replaces it after the next data collection.
Questions
Where is the ISS right now?
This page gives its position at the data time, : 3.9° N, 150.0° W. It moves about 3.9 degrees around the Earth every minute, so for where it is now, open the live globe, which computes it in your browser.
How high is the ISS?
Between 418 and 435 km over the orbit after the data time, 427 km on average, computed from the element set.
How long does the ISS take to go round the Earth?
93.0 minutes, from the element set's 15.49 orbits a day.
When can I see the ISS?
When it passes over you while it is in sunlight and your sky is dark. 2 of the 21 passes over the six cities in the 24 hours after the data time are like that; the tables give the times.
Sources
- CelesTrak current GP data. The ISS element set (NORAD 25544)
- satellite.js. The SGP4 code that turns the element set into positions