International Space Station
Research in Earth orbit
The ISS is a crewed research laboratory in low Earth orbit. Its international partners use it for science, technology demonstrations and learning how people live in space.
Why this mission matters
Experiments aboard the station help researchers study the effects of microgravity on people, materials and living things. The station also provides a platform for observing Earth.
What the moving numbers mean
Our latitude, longitude, height and speed are calculated from public orbital elements. They illustrate where the station is predicted to be; they are not measurements received directly from the crew.
Original mission source
NASA: International Space StationMission history reviewed October 8, 2026. This page is a brief guide to the original records, not a live mission status feed.
Sources & dates
- CelesTrak
- Orbital elements and satellite identities
- NASA SSCWeb
- Selected mission trajectories
- Launch Library 2
- Community launch schedules; times can change
- ESA
- Dated space debris and environment statistics
- SatNOGS
- Community radio catalog; linked for further research
Positions are estimates. Source orbit time, last successful check and page changes have different meanings. SatNOGS and NASA links are research resources; this map uses CelesTrak orbital elements.