The International Space Station (ISS) will travel over North Texas many times this week, providing several opportunities to glimpse it.
It will pass nine times starting Monday night, with the most excellent viewing opportunities on Tuesday at 10:37 p.m. and Wednesday at 9:48 p.m., weather permitting.
When you see the International Space Station passing overhead, it will appear like a little white light moving faster than anything else in the sky. The ISS circles the planet every 90 minutes at a height of 254 miles above Earth and a rate of 17,500 miles per hour.
- Monday, May 30, 9:49 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for four minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the NNW horizon and exiting at about 30 degrees to the NNE. The max height for this viewing is 30 degrees.
- Monday, May 30, 11:25 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for only about one minute beginning about 10 degrees above the WNW horizon and exiting at about 15 degrees to the WNW. The max height for this viewing is 15 degrees.
- Tuesday, May 31, 9:01 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for three minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the N horizon and exiting at about 10 degrees to the NE. The max height for this viewing is 12 degrees.
- Tuesday, May 31, 10:37 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for three minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the NW horizon and exiting at 56 degrees to the WNW. The max height for this viewing is 56 degrees.
- Wednesday, June 1, 9:48 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for five minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the NW horizon and exiting at about 32 degrees to the ESE. The max height for this viewing is 53 degrees.
- Thursday, June 2, 9 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for six minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the NNW horizon and exiting at about 10 degrees to the E. The max height for this viewing is 29 degrees.
- Thursday, June 2, 10:38 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for two minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the western horizon and exiting at about 19 degrees to the WSW. The max height for this viewing is 19 degrees.
- Friday, June 3, 9:49 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for five minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the WNW horizon and exiting at about 21 degrees to the S. The max height for this viewing is 38 degrees.
- Sunday, June 5, 9:51 p.m. — The ISS will be visible for two minutes beginning about 10 degrees above the WSW horizon and exiting at about 10 degrees to the SW. The max height for this viewing is 11 degrees.
The International Space Station is where science, technology, and human creativity come together. It shows off new technologies and enables research that would not be possible on Earth.
NASA recently celebrated 21 years of continuous human presence on the orbiting laboratory, which has been home to 258 people and a wide range of international and commercial spacecraft.
The space station is still the starting point for NASA’s next big step in exploration, which will include trips to the Moon under Artemis and, in the long run, trips to Mars.
