Spot the Station

NASA 

About this app

For anyone who has ever gazed up at the night sky and wondered about the mysteries of the universe, witnessing the ISS pass overhead can be an awe-inspiring moment. The Spot the Station mobile app is designed to notify users when the International Space Station (ISS) is visible overhead from their location. It aims to broaden access and awareness of the ISS and NASA globally, by providing users with an opportunity to experience the wonder of the ISS firsthand. The realization that there are human beings living and working in that tiny dot, orbiting the Earth at a mind-boggling speed of 17,500 miles per hour, is breathtaking. The app includes several helpful features including: 1. 2D & 3D real-time location views of the ISS 2. Upcoming Sighting Lists with visibility data 3. Augmented Reality (AR) view with compass and trajectory lines embedded into the camera view 4. Up-to-date NASA ISS Resources & Blog 5. Privacy Settings 6. Push Notifications when the ISS is approaching your location

Ratings and reviews

NASA geniuses developed this free and ad-free app, and it honestly rocks if you're an astronomy and technology junkie like myself. It not only shows the path of the ISS, but has a great augmented reality function to see that, too! It'll send you an alert when the station is about to be seen from your area if you choose, and there's a wealth of interesting links to other NASA activities! Highly recommended, and a lot of fun! You can even take pics of the station through the app!

The notifications are late. Seems this app is a waste of space. (lol.....get it?) But, in all seriousness, I have yet to recieve a notification of the station passing prior to the station actually passing, by no less than 15-20 minutes. I recommend setting your own alarms/timers using the times for your location in the app as reference, or don't install the app if you expect it to work as the developer describes.

Honestly 1 start is a bit much. I didn't want to give any stars because I have no idea how good it actually is. I couldn't ever get passed the "detecting your location" screen in set up. Even after clearing the cache/storage. Definitely wish it would work so I could start to get my daughter interested in space with me. Hopefully eventually all the kinks are worked out and we can try again. Update: Reinstalled and finished set up. Can't wait to run outside in 12 hours and see it overhead!

What's new

* New information screen for the AR View, which shows current station details and information about the next sighting.
* Step-by-step tutorial for the first time users visit the AR View, similar to that for the Home page.
* exact time of next sighting next to the date inside the Next Sighting box on the home page.
* Bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates.
* Live Stream of the station camera under Resources