How fast does the ISS travel?
About 27,600 km/h (17,100 mph). The International Space Station circles Earth every 93 minutes, about 420 km (261 miles) up: 15.5 orbits a day.
Computed from the station's latest orbit data (CelesTrak element set for NORAD 25544, 6 October 2026, 23:34 UTC). The numbers update every time the site refreshes.
Right now 122 of the 1,075 cities on this site have a visible ISS pass tonight. Find yours.
The numbers, compared with China's Tiangong station
| ISS | Tiangong (Tianhe core) | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 27,565 km/h (17,128 mph, 7.66 km/s) | 27,634 km/h (17,171 mph) |
| Average height above Earth | 420 km (261 miles) | 386 km (240 miles) |
| Lowest / highest point | 416 / 425 km | 386 / 387 km |
| Time for one orbit | 93.0 minutes | 92.3 minutes |
| Orbits per day | 15.49 | 15.60 |
| Orbit tilt (inclination) | 51.6° | 41.5° |
| Orbits completed since launch | 58,908 | 31,067 |
What that speed means
- Every minute the ISS covers about 459 km (285 miles).
- It would cross the United States from New York to Los Angeles (about 3,940 km in a straight line) in roughly 9 minutes.
- A visible pass lasts only a few minutes: the station rises in the west, crosses, and fades as it enters Earth's shadow or sets in the east.
How we computed it
An orbit's size follows from how many times a day it goes round (the "mean motion" in the element set): the semi-major axis is a = (GM / n²)1/3, with GM = 398,600.4 km³/s². The height is a minus Earth's equatorial radius (6,378.137 km), and the lowest and highest points use the orbit's eccentricity. The speed is the circular-orbit speed √(GM / a). Earth is slightly flattened, so the height above the ground you happen to be under varies by up to about 20 km from these figures.
See it yourself
The same orbit data drives our pass predictions. See when the ISS passes over your city tonight; every city page also lists Tiangong and any Starlink train.
Questions
How fast does the ISS travel?
About 27,600 km/h, or 17,100 mph: 7.66 km every second. That is the speed relative to Earth's centre, computed from its latest orbit (6 October 2026, 23:34 UTC).
How fast is the ISS in mph?
About 17,100 miles per hour, roughly 285 miles every minute.
How high is the International Space Station?
About 420 km (261 miles) above Earth on average, between 416 and 425 km over one orbit. Its height slowly drops because of air drag and is raised again by engine burns.
How many times a day does the ISS orbit Earth?
15.49 times: one orbit takes 93.0 minutes. So the crew sees about 15 sunrises and 15 sunsets every 24 hours.
How far away is the ISS from me?
Never less than its height, about 420 km, and that only when it is straight overhead. During a typical pass low in the sky it is 1,000 to 2,000 km away, which is why low passes look fainter.
Can you see the ISS during the day?
It is only practical at night or in twilight: the sky has to be dark while the station, high up, is still in sunlight. That is why the passes we list are all in the hours after dusk or before dawn.
Can you see the ISS without a telescope?
Yes. It is one of the brightest things in the night sky, a steady white light that crosses in a few minutes and does not blink. A telescope is not needed and is hard to aim at something this fast.
Where can the ISS be seen from?
Its orbit is tilted 51.6° to the equator, so it flies over every place between about 52° north and 52° south, and is visible a bit beyond that because it is so high.