What is the ISS?
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest structure humans have ever put in space: 109 metres end to end — about a football field — orbiting ~400 km above Earth at 28,000 km/h. It circles the planet every 92 minutes and has been continuously inhabited since 2 November 2000.
A laboratory like no other
The ISS is a microgravity laboratory shared by five space agencies (NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, CSA). Research ranges from protein crystals for drug design to how flames and fluids behave without gravity — over 3,000 experiments to date, from more than 100 countries.
Why you can see it with your naked eye
Its acre of solar panels makes the ISS the brightest artificial object in the sky — often outshining Venus. It looks like a brilliant, fast, non-blinking star crossing the sky in about five minutes, always travelling roughly west to east. The catch: it's only visible when it is sunlit while your sky is dark — evening and pre-dawn passes.
Check tonight's pass times for 550+ cities or turn on a free pass alert and Cosmik will ping you ~10 minutes before it crosses your sky.
Frequently asked questions
How fast does the ISS travel?
27,600 km/h — 7.66 km every second. It circles Earth in ~92 minutes, giving its crew 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets a day.
Can you see the ISS without a telescope?
Easily — it's one of the brightest objects in the night sky, outshining every star. It looks like a brilliant, fast, non-blinking light crossing the sky in a few minutes. Cosmik tells you exactly when it passes over your city.
How many people live on the ISS?
Usually seven, rotating on ~6-month missions. It has been continuously inhabited since November 2000 — more than a quarter century of humans permanently off-planet.
Keep exploring
See it yourself tonight
Theory is better with a sky. Get the next ISS pass times over New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin or Sydney — or any of 550+ cities. Aurora hunter? Check tonight's forecast for your city.
