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

Notifications don't work correctly! I have tried to use the filters, because there's no reason to get notified for flyovers of 15 degrees or less, but when I use the filters, I may get a notification once out of 10 flyovers. Notifications are totally haphazard. I would also like to see a setting for how far in advance of the flyover to be notified. Other than the notification problem, the app is barely just OK. I want the PC page back!

It's good - when it works, but it's not reliable enough. On too many days, the main screen will say the ISS will be overhead at x time, but when you click on that box to get details, the next screen says nope, nothing until (date). Some times it will say the ISS is coming from the west, but it's actually coming from the east. Love to see it when the stars align (pun!) but can't trust it.

Set your notification time in the app, I have mine set at 30 minutes before. Also there's settings for time to view so you won't be looking at the ISS far away, I have mine set for at least 2 minutes viewing, then the ISS passes closer to you. Use AR tab and point your screen to the sky and you'll see the exact path to get an eyeball view.

What’s new

* New: Upcoming Sightings page to allow filtering the sightings by cloud cover.
* New: Settings to switch the app units between Metric (default) and Imperial (US) units.
* New: Upcoming Sightings page to open the Past Sightings page that shows the history of the past events for the last 2 weeks at the selected location.
* New: Resources page is the Earth Science Data Resources.
* New feature on the Upcoming Sightings page to add each sighting to the phone calendar