About issonlive
issonlive.app is a quiet editorial site about the International Space Station. We show you where it is, who is aboard, and when it will cross your sky.
It is built by David Fernández, the developer behind the Android companion app. The web you are reading rebuilds itself every hour: orbital elements from Celestrak, position computed locally from those elements with SGP4, schedule from The Space Devs, crew from NASA.
Not affiliated with NASA, ESA, JAXA or Roscosmos.
Contact
Questions, corrections or partnership enquiries? Email and we'll get back to you.
Guides
New to the Station? Start with our plain-English guides:
- How to see the ISS with the naked eye
- What is the International Space Station?
- Understanding visible passes
- How we track the ISS in real time
- ISS deorbit — what happens after 2030
- A day aboard the ISS
- Spacewalks explained
- ISS modules — a guided tour
- ISS vs Tiangong — how to tell them apart
- What is a TLE — orbital elements explained
- ISS magnitude and brightness explained
- Why the ISS orbits at 51.6 degrees
See also the glossary for quick definitions of every technical term.
FAQ
How do I see the Station with my own eyes?
Wait for a clear evening, find a spot away from streetlights, look toward the western horizon at the time we tell you, and watch a steady bright dot drift across the sky for three to five minutes. It does not blink.
Why does the time change every day?
The Station orbits Earth every 92 minutes, but Earth rotates underneath. So consecutive passes happen at different times of day.