The International Space Station · seen from Romania
The space station flies over your house. Here is when to look up
You can see it with the naked eye, like a very bright star that does not blink. Pick your town and see the next passes, to the minute: where to look, how high it climbs, how long it lasts.
Today’s passes appear here once the live predictor loads. Until then, the current schedule is at NASA’s Spot the Station.
See the passes
The predictor
When it passes over you
Pick your town. The list shows the visible passes of the next seven days: dates and times in Romania, where to look at the start and at the end, how high it climbs, how long it lasts.
The predictor has not loaded
The pass list is computed in your browser and is unavailable right now, so the page shows no old passes as a forecast. For the current schedule, use NASA’s Spot the Station or Heavens-Above.
A pass makes the list when the station climbs past 10 degrees above the horizon, lit by the Sun, while the Sun has already set where you stand. The hours shown cover only the sunlit window: if the station slips into the Earth's shadow, the listed pass ends there. The calculations assume a clear sky.
To confirm on the night: Spot the Station (NASA) and Heavens-Above.
In the sky
How to recognise it
Three signs give it away among the aeroplanes and stars.
One-question test: what do you see in the sky when the station passes?
The second one.
That is how NASA describes it: like an aeroplane or a very bright star, but with no blinking lights and no changes of direction.
It looks like an aeroplane or a very bright star, NASA writes. Two things tell it apart: it has no blinking lights and it never changes direction.
The third sign is speed. An airliner flies at about 965 km/h; the station at about 28,000 km/h, roughly 29 times faster. It crosses the sky in a few minutes.
Size
How big it is
How big is a house for seven people, 400 kilometres above you?
Before you read on: how long do you think the station is, from end to end?
109 metres, four metres past the 105-metre pitch drawn below.
NASA measures 109 metres from end to end. International pitches run 100 to 110 metres; the drawing shows the 105-metre one.
Schematic drawing, to scale.
- It weighs almost 420 tonnes.
- NASA gives it a wingspan of 109 metres, more than the 80 metres of the largest passenger aeroplane.
- Inside, the pressurised volume comes to about 1,000 cubic metres.
The orbit
Around the Earth in 93 minutes
The speed, height and path of one full lap, on a map and in numbers.
93 minutes
one full lap
28,000 km/h
the speed, almost eight kilometres a second
400 km
the usual height (today about 425)
16
sunrises in 24 hours
Height and lap time are computed from the orbital elements of 22 September 2026 (NASA writes about 90 minutes, ESA writes 92).
The orbit tilts 51.6 degrees to the Equator, so its path reaches latitude 51.6 degrees. All 42 towns in the list sit south of that line, between 43.9 and 47.8 degrees. That is why the station can pass right over you.
More than 90% of the world's population lives under its path, NASA writes.
The correction
Can you see the Great Wall from space?
The most repeated story about what can be seen from space does not survive its sources.
Can you see the Great Wall from space with the naked eye?
No. At least, not without help.
‘difficult or impossible to see from Earth orbit without the high-powered lenses used for this photo’
NASA, on the photograph taken by Commander Leroy Chiao from the station during Expedition 10 — nasa.gov
The photograph was taken from the station through high-powered lenses during Expedition 10. In command was Leroy Chiao, who took the famous Great Wall picture.
Remember this photograph was taken through high-powered lenses: with the naked eye, from orbit, the wall dissolves into the landscape.
1998–2030
From the first piece to the last descent
Three dates: the first piece, the first crew, the last descent.
1998
The first piece
The Russian Zarya module reaches orbit on 20 November 1998. On 6 December the shuttle Endeavour brings the American Unity module and joins them together.
2000
The first crew
The first crew arrives in November 2000, and the station has stayed lived in ever since. A standard crew numbers seven.
2030
The last descent
After its working life ends in 2030, a SpaceX-built vehicle will bring the station down from orbit. The contract is worth up to $843 million.
The last chapter is a plan announced by NASA. No exact date exists yet.
The game
Eight statements, true or false
Eight statements about the station. Pick true or false for each; the answer only appears once you commit.
All the statements, with answers:
- True. You can see the space station with the naked eye. NASA publishes lists of visible passes for any town. It looks like a very bright star crossing the sky. NASA, Spot the Station
- False. It shines with its own lights. It shines because it reflects sunlight. That is why it shows in the hours after sunset and before sunrise. NASA, Spot the Station
- True. It circles the Earth in about 90 minutes. On the elements of 22 September 2026, one lap takes 93 minutes. NASA writes about 90, ESA writes 92. NASA, ESA + the orbital elements
- True. It is almost as long as a football pitch. It measures 109 metres from end to end, and pitches for international matches run 100 to 110 metres. NASA + the Laws of the Game
- False. You can see the Great Wall from the station with the naked eye. NASA writes that the wall is ‘difficult or impossible to see from Earth orbit’ without high-powered lenses. The famous photograph was taken through such lenses. NASA, Great Wall
- True. It passes over Romania. The orbit reaches 51.6 degrees of latitude, and Romania's towns sit between 43.9 and 47.8. The pass list above shows it. NASA + the orbital elements
- True. It has been lived in without a break since 2000. The first crew arrived in November 2000, and someone has been aboard ever since. A standard crew numbers seven. NASA, Facts and Figures
- True. NASA already plans to bring it down after 2030. SpaceX is building the deorbit vehicle, under a contract worth up to $843 million. No exact date is set. NASA, US Deorbit Vehicle
Honesty
What the sources cannot say
- Clouds. The predictor assumes a clear sky; a cloudy evening hides any pass, however high the station climbs.
- Maneuvers. The page checks CelesTrak once a day for new orbital elements. An orbit-raising or debris-avoidance maneuver can change the path before the next update, shifting passes predicted for the following days.
- An official brightness. We found no official number from any agency for the peak brightness. So the page only says ‘a very bright star’, in NASA’s words.
- The exact date of the descent. There is a plan and a contract, not a fixed day.
Sources
Sources and method
The page checks CelesTrak daily for new orbital elements for the station (NORAD 25544); the response is cached for up to 24 hours. Position is propagated with the SGP4 model. A pass appears when the station climbs above 10 degrees, is sunlit, and the Sun is below the observer's horizon. The listed window ends where the station enters Earth's shadow. All times use Romania's time zone.
If CelesTrak cannot be reached, the predictor uses the elements included in the page and shows their age. The map's dot and path use the same orbital position. Station maneuvers to raise its orbit or avoid debris can change the path before new elements are published.
The calculations were checked with the Skyfield library and the JPL DE440 ephemeris. The football pitch is drawn at 105 metres, the middle of the regulation 100–110 metre range, and the reference reader is 1.70 metres tall. Town coordinates come from GeoNames.
- NASA, International Space Station Facts and Figures nasa.gov — size, mass, crew, the 16 daily orbits
- NASA, Spot the Station nasa.gov — when it shows, what it looks like, the 51.6-degree inclination, speed
- ESA, Where is the International Space Station? esa.int — 400 km up, 92 minutes a lap
- NASA, Great Wall (image article) nasa.gov — Chiao's photograph and what NASA says about the wall
- NASA, 25 Years Ago: The First Pieces of the International Space Station nasa.gov — the Zarya module, 20 November 1998
- NASA, NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle nasa.gov — the post-2030 plan, the $843 million vehicle
- IFAB, Laws of the Game 2024/25, Law 1: The Field of Play thefa.com (PDF) — pitch length for internationals: 100–110 metres
- CelesTrak, the station’s orbital elements (NORAD 25544) celestrak.org — current orbital elements; checked daily and cached for up to 24 hours
- GeoNames geonames.org — the 42 towns' coordinates
- NASA, International Space Station Frequently Asked Questions nasa.gov — orbit-raising and debris-avoidance maneuvers