Comparison

SpaceStationAR LITE vs ISS Explorer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SpaceStationAR LITE

Explore the night sky with augmented reality. This app overlays satellite passes, stars, and celestial objects onto your real-world view. Track the ISS, Starlink trains, and more, with calendar events and map visualizations.

Highlights
  • AR satellite pass simulation
  • Display of stars, galaxies, and spacecraft
  • Satellite pass visualization on maps
  • Global map of satellite orbits
  • Calendar of upcoming passes and launches
  • Offline app usage
  • Satellite pass notifications
Features
Read full description

SpaceStationAR is an augmented reality (AR) application that simulates the visibility of satellites in the night sky. With SpaceStationAR, you can easily spot the brilliant International Space Station, spectacular Starlink Trains, and various satellites at the forefront of space exploration with your own eyes. As your iPhone or iPad camera captures the scenery around you, SpaceStationAR overlays passes of the International Space Station, the Starlink Train (a group of Starlink satellites), and the Chinese Space Station onto the actual scenery. You can also use the app to find bright stars, galaxies, spacecrafts like Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, and even see the direction of major cities beyond the ground. SpaceStationAR also indicates the positions of geostationary satellites, making it a valuable tool for antenna installation. You can easily access satellite orbits on maps in addition to the AR views. The "Calendar" tab displays events like upcoming satellite passes and rocket launches within the next two weeks. You can choose a pass from the list and simulate it in AR. Apple Watch app and "Today" widget are also available. They show simple lists of satellites' passes. LITE version has some restrictions. AR prediction stops 30 minutes before the passes. Full version without Ads and with the sky chat view is available on the store. http://itunes.apple.com/app/torisat/id361194118?mt=8 List of Features * AR simulation of satellite passes overlaid on real landscapes * Display of stars, galaxies, black holes, planetary probes, satellites, and world cities in AR (Visibility can be customized by type) * Visualization of satellite passes on maps * Presentation of satellite orbits and current locations on a global map * Calendar listing satellite passes within the next two weeks * Support for newly launched satellites * Offline app usage * Satellite pass notifications: Set notification times from 15 minutes to 6 hours before the event for accurate alerts. (Please allow background location updates for precise notifications. Disabling this feature may lead to inaccurate notifications when traveling long distances with the app closed.)

About

ISS Explorer

Explore a detailed 3D model of the International Space Station. Rotate, zoom, and select individual components to learn about their function and systems. Organize your view by turning parts and labels on or off.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D ISS model
  • Rotate and zoom functionality
  • Selectable parts with isolation
  • Detailed information on components
  • Hierarchical part organization
  • Toggle parts and labels
Features
Read full description

The ISS explorer is an interactive tool for exploring the parts and pieces of the International Space Station (ISS). The application allows the user to view a 3D model of the ISS, rotate it, zoom into it, and select different parts and pieces. When the application starts, you can see a view of the entire ISS with category labels. Tabs are available on the left hand side of the screen which allow you access to information, the hierarchy, settings and application information. From this point, you can zoom into the station, revealing more labels of visible parts. The station can also be rotated to view from different angles. If a part is selected, the part is isolated so that you can focus on the specific piece. The information tab shows information about the currently isolated part. Inside the hierarchy tab, you can turn parts on or off, turn labels for parts on or off, turn parts transparent, or select a part to focus on. The parts are organized in a hierarchy to allow for systems to be described and displayed. This includes things such as truss, modules, and external platforms. The Information tab shows information about the current isolated part, system, or the full ISS if the entire station is shown.

Screenshots

SpaceStationAR LITE4 screens
ISS Explorer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ISS Explorer at 100% against SpaceStationAR LITE's 47%. ISS Explorer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.9 vs 4.5). SpaceStationAR LITE's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 10 months) and ratings volume (139 vs 16). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ISS Explorer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpaceStationAR LITE has 139 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of SpaceStationAR LITE's written reviews are positive against 100% of ISS Explorer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpaceStationAR LITE ships an update every 2 weeks, ISS Explorer every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
SpaceStationAR LITE versus ISS Explorer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpaceStationAR LITEISS Explorer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (139 ratings)4.9 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings139 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 10 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB747 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToriningen Co.,Ltd.NASA

Customer experience

SpaceStationAR LITE

All ratings139 ratings
Positive89.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive46.9%
Neutral9.4%
Negative43.8%

ISS Explorer

All ratings16 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SpaceStationAR LITE

No in-app purchases

None

ISS Explorer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpaceStationAR LITE free?
SpaceStationAR LITE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ISS Explorer free?
ISS Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SpaceStationAR LITE or ISS Explorer?
ISS Explorer is rated higher. SpaceStationAR LITE averages 4.5 out of 5 from 139 ratings, while ISS Explorer averages 4.9 from 16 ratings.
Do SpaceStationAR LITE or ISS Explorer have ads?
SpaceStationAR LITE shows ads; ISS Explorer does not.
Which is updated more often, SpaceStationAR LITE or ISS Explorer?
SpaceStationAR LITE ships an update every 2 weeks, and ISS Explorer every 10 months. Most recently, SpaceStationAR LITE was updated on September 21, 2026 and ISS Explorer on September 7, 2026.

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