# Spot the Station — See The Space Station Overhead > Track and view the International Space Station from your location. (iPhone/iPad app by NASA.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spot-the-station/id6449235044 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [NASA](https://appshunter.io/developer/355542146) - Category: Education - Price: Free - Rating: 4.80/5 from 9,377 App Store ratings · 285 written reviews indexed - Age rating: +4 - Requires: iOS 15.1 · 85 MB - Languages: Brazilian Portuguese, German (Germany), European Spanish, French (France), Hindi, Dutch, American English, Italian, Japanese, Polish and 4 more - Released: 2023-07-17 - Data updated: 2026-08-26 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spot-the-station/id6449235044/reviews.md ## What is Spot the Station? For anyone who has ever gazed up at the night sky and wondered about the mysteries of the universe, witnessing the International Space Station pass overhead can be an awe-inspiring moment. The Spot the Station mobile app is designed to notify users when the space station is visible overhead from their location. It aims to broaden access and awareness of the station and NASA globally, by providing users with an opportunity to experience the wonder of the space station 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 station 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 space station Resources & Blog 5. Privacy Settings 6. Push Notifications when the station is approaching your location. ## Key features - Real-time 2D & 3D station location - Upcoming sighting lists - Augmented reality view with trajectory - NASA space station resources & blog - Push notifications for sightings ## What do users think of Spot the Station? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Awesome App - 🚀 ISS joy! - 🚀 Awesome App! - 🚀 Brilliant - 🚀 Great fun app - 🚀 Works - 🚀 Fantastic App - 🚀 Works great on my phone - 🚀 Simple utility that does the job well - 🚀 Accurate and easy to use!! - 🚀 Location working now - 🚀 App greatly improved! - 🚀 Everything works. - 🚀 So awesome!! **Cons** - 🐛 AR View jumps to a bug screen - 🐛 Loses location - 🐛 Can't open - 🐛 Current location - 🐛 Crashes on iPhone 15 Pro - 🐛 Didn't work, now it does - 🐛 Measurement units. - 🐛 Taking photos - 🐛 Crashes when granting camera permission - 🐛 Crashes on iPhone 15 Pro **Commonly reported bugs** - Location-detection bugs are fixed, and the app is much much better. - Location FIXED with the latest update - App now working as expected - App crashes when trying to use AR - Crashes when granting camera permission **Most requested features** - Would like to know speed and height at which this incredible machine is whizzing above our planet! - I wish it could say dates further into the future though - I would love to have an option of the map to show where it's at like which country or state it's flying over - Would be nice if the notification would give you the details of the pass over your location i.e Visible: 1 min Max Height: 16° Appears: 10° above S Disappears: 16° above S ## Recent user reviews (10 of 285) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spot-the-station/id6449235044/reviews.md ### 4/5 — 2nd to none *2026-08-10* BEEN WAITING FOR NEW SITE, this is FANTASTIC!!! ### 5/5 — Ford T model Awareness who and where we are *2026-07-31, version 1.10.0* When I first saw the app I approached it with open mind and eyes. The first viewing was a few days away so naturally I got busy. The ISS was not on my agenda. Then I got a calendar notice-then a countdown T-. At that point Reality set in. A revelation came to me “There are people in that thing”. Just like there are people in those little red,white and green flashes that come by.Lin the sky at night.However They aren’t in an airplane they are in Space vehicle less the a Ford T Model and we as a people are in our infancy in relation to Space exploration and travel. Thank you developers, you helped me to awake!! ### 5/5 — I love it! *2026-07-28* 😭❤️ ### 5/5 — Sky Candy *2026-07-27, version 1.10.0* It’s always thrilling to me to watch the ISS as it orbits overhead. The reason I can consistently watch it is because of the SPOT the STATION app. It’s a FANTASTIC APP in every way and I’m so appreciative of its functionality and availability. ### 5/5 — Bill S *2026-07-26* Outstanding app! I know it seems nerdish (I just made that up :-) but to get to outside and see the space station fly by is amazing. I often go out just after sunset and watch satellites go by, by there isn’t a better satellite than the space station, and this app makes it possible. I’ll sometimes go out to see it multiple times a night, then ponder how in 90 minutes, this thing went around the world, and I saw it twice in 90 minutes! Amazing! ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-07-26, version 1.10.0* Just amazing watching the station pass overhead. ### 5/5 — Great *2026-07-26, version 1.10.0* Great ### 5/5 — Outstanding *2026-07-26, version 1.10.0* Easy to use with engaging interface that makes it fun to show off to friends. ### 5/5 — Compréhension *2026-07-25* Je ne comprends pas toujours l orientation du trajet de l ISS - difficile pour un non initié . ### 5/5 — Awesome app *2026-07-24, version 1.10.0* This app is amazing. It gives you a 15 minute heads up and also shows you where the iss is. Top notch. ## Frequently asked questions about Spot the Station ### What does the Spot the Station app do? This app notifies you when the International Space Station (ISS) is visible from your current location. It provides real-time tracking, upcoming sighting information, and educational resources from NASA to enhance your viewing experience. ### What are the key features of the app? Key features include real-time 2D and 3D views of the ISS's location, lists of upcoming sightings with visibility data, an augmented reality view with compass and trajectory lines, and push notifications to alert you when the station is approaching. ### Is the Spot the Station app free to use? Yes, the app is completely free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned. ### Who is this app for? This app is designed for anyone who is curious about space, enjoys stargazing, or is interested in NASA and the International Space Station. It's perfect for those who want a tangible way to connect with space exploration. ### How does the augmented reality feature work? The augmented reality (AR) view uses your device's camera to show the ISS's path across the sky. It embeds compass directions and trajectory lines directly into your camera feed, helping you pinpoint the station's exact location as it passes overhead. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.10.0 — 2026-07-02 * Fixed an issue with the station trajectory lines on 3D maps and AR View: the algorithm is now better handling cases when trajectory points are not evenly distributed in NASA files, during orbit raising maneuvers or dockings. * Updated the algorithm for calculating the upcoming sighting opportunities, so that the minimum height above horizon is changed from 10 to 5 degrees to include more sightings. Users can still filter the upcoming sightings according to the Max Height dropdown menu (default > 5) on the Upcoming Sightings page, accessible from the Home page. * Modified default entry to the AR View page to not be in full-screen mode, added the station direction circle in default window mode, changed full-screen toggle icon to be more intuitive. * Changed the Past Sightings page so that the past sightings list are sorted with the most recent sightings at the top of the list and the oldest sightings at the bottom of the page. * Updated the answers to some of the questions and added search functionality to the Frequently Asked Questions page under Resources. * Updated the Tutorial for the Home page according to the latest UI changes. * Modified the Contact Us page to encourage users to include a description of the issue, along with the selected location and date+time of the station sighting opportunity, so that our support team can better reproduce and diagnose reported issues. * Fixed a bug with the camera-access safety reminder popup window on the AR View page that was not allowing scroll-down to dismiss. * Updated third-party libraries to patch security vulnerabilities and improve overall app safety. * Other bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates. ### 1.9.0 — 2026-03-20 Maintenance efforts to ensure security of API calls. Other bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates. ### 1.8.0 — 2025-12-16 - Reorganized the information screens on top of the Home page to improve visibility of the button to open sightings list. - Replaced "today" and "tomorrow" phrases with actual dates in notifications and sightings list to avoid confusion. - Optimized the dynamic sizing of the 3D globe view on Home and Tracker pages to improve the globe fit to the screen size in portrait and landscape modes. - Enabled pinch-to-zoom functionality on the 3D view of the Tracker and Home pages. - Rearranged UI elements inside the iPhone dynamic island for better visibility of the information in the live activity box. - Resolved a rare bug that caused the 3D globe on Home page to disappear for a long time after switching between locations. - Other bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates. ### 1.7.0 — 2025-08-25 - Added the Upcoming Sightings list to the Resources page for ease of access. This page was available via tapping on the Next Sightings List button on the Home page. - Enabled sharing of an entire Upcoming Sightings list for the selected location. Previously, the sharing option was only available for one sighting at a time. - Provided the Information overlay with details of the Next Sighting on the AR View page, even when user has not granted permission to use the phone's camera. - Added a 12-hour option to the preset options for notification times ahead of each sighting opportunity. - Provided more options for the Duration filter on the Upcoming Sightings list. - Added a message for the users that have not allowed permissions to access their phone's calendar, which has a link to the phone settings to grant this permission, so that they can add an upcoming sighting opportunity to the calendar. - Optimized the Sightings List to reduce lag time when there is a larger list of potential sighting opportunities for a location. - Fixed an error on the Resources > Station Details page, where the dimensions of the station were not changing when user selected Imperial (US) units in the settings. - Resolved a bug that caused notifications to display "1440 minutes" instead of "24 hours". - Bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates. ### 1.6.0 — 2025-06-09 * New feature on the Upcoming Sightings page to allow filtering the sightings by cloud cover. Also a new line for each sighting shows the cloud cover percentage. Climatic data is based on hourly estimates, updated once a day for the selected location and may not be accurate. * New feature in Settings to switch the app units between Metric (default) and Imperial (US) units. * New feature on the 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 feature on the Resources page is the Earth Science Data Resources, which includes links to NASA's Earth Information Center and Eyes on the Earth interactive tool. * New feature on the Upcoming Sightings page to add each sighting to the phone calendar, so that earlier notifications (more than 2 hours in advance) can be customized through the calendar. * New feature in Settings to switch the app time format between the 12-hour and 24-hour formats. The default format is according to the device settings. * New feature on lock screen of iOS devices to show live activity countdown timer for the upcoming sightings for the selected location. * Added zoom capability to the AR view so that users can zoom in and out using a pinch gesture when capturing pictures or video. * Updated some of the responses for the Frequently Asked Questions on the Resources page. * Bug fixes and third-party software maintenance updates. ## Apps similar to Spot the Station | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [NASA](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nasa/id334325516) | 4.8 (63,711) | Free | Education | | [ISS Live Now](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iss-live-now/id1138994692) | 4.6 (6,453) | Free | Education | | [ISS Detector](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/iss-detector/id1198597805) | 4.6 (463) | Free | Education | | [SpaceStationAR](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spacestationar/id361194118) | 4.8 (116) | $2.99 | Education | ## More apps by NASA - [NASA](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nasa/id334325516) - [NASA Visualization Explorer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nasa-visualization-explorer/id448700202) - [Ascent: Commemorating Shuttle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ascent-commemorating-shuttle/id473973416) - [NASA HIAD](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nasa-hiad/id534511367) - [Space365](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/space365/id543989186) - [NASA Glenn Research Center: The Early Years](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nasa-glenn-research-center-the-early-years/id562903295) All apps by NASA: https://appshunter.io/developer/355542146 ## Related topics [iss tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/iss-tracker) · [international space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/international-space-station) · [space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station) · [space station tracking](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station-tracking) · [space station locate](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station-locate) · [spot the station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/spot-the-station) · [international space station tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/international-space-station-tracker) · [space station tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station-tracker) · [spot the space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/spot-the-space-station) · [nasa spot the station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nasa-spot-the-station) · [space shuttle tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-shuttle-tracker) · [find the space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/find-the-space-station) · [nasa space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nasa-space-station) · [spot the international space station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/spot-the-international-space-station) · [track the station](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/track-the-station) · [iss finder](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/iss-finder) · [international space station tracking](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/international-space-station-tracking) · [space station live](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station-live) · [space station research xplorer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/space-station-research-xplorer) · [nasa](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nasa) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*