Live satellite map & ISS pass predictor

It propagates the ISS orbit from its current orbital elements and, for your location, finds the upcoming passes that rise high enough above the horizon. It then keeps only the passes where the station is sunlit while your sky is dark — the condition for the ISS to be visible — and lists the time, the highest point in the sky and the direction to look.

The predictor handles the geometry, but it cannot see your weather. Clouds, haze, bright city lights or a low horizon can hide a pass that is otherwise visible. Passes that climb higher in the sky are easier to catch.

Positions are computed in your browser with the standard SGP4 model from TLE orbital elements published by CelesTrak. This is the same method satellite trackers use; it is accurate to within a few kilometres, which is plenty for spotting a pass, though not for precise targeting.

Soon after a launch, SpaceX’s Starlink satellites fly in a tight line — the famous “train” of lights — before spreading into their final orbits. The Starlink mode shows the whole constellation moving across the map; the most recently launched groups are the ones that still look like a chain.

Yes. Positions are computed from orbital elements, not from ground stations, so the map is just as complete over Russia as anywhere. Note the ISS orbit reaches about 51.6° latitude, so from latitudes like Moscow it passes across the southern sky rather than straight overhead.