SpaceStationAR LITE vs Space Station Passes
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SpaceStationAR LITE
Explore the night sky with augmented reality. This app overlays satellite paths, stars, and galaxies onto your camera view, helping you spot the ISS, Starlink trains, and more. It also provides a calendar of upcoming celestial events and offline map visualizations.
- Augmented reality satellite pass simulation
- Display of stars, galaxies, and spacecraft in AR
- Satellite pass visualization on maps
- Calendar of upcoming satellite passes and launches
- Offline app usage
- Satellite pass notifications
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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.)
Space Station Passes
This app predicts when the International Space Station and Tiangong will pass over your location. It offers detailed sky charts, timely notifications, and a night mode for optimal viewing. Track over 4000 satellites with real-time sky views.
- Satellite pass prediction
- Interactive sky chart
- Customizable notifications
- Night mode
- Real-time satellite tracking
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Know when to look up—and where to look. Space Station Passes helps you spot the International Space Station, Tiangong, and other satellites from your chosen location. Plan your next observation with pass forecasts, interactive sky charts, and reminders. • Find your next visible pass: See upcoming passes, their timing, and how high each satellite will appear above the horizon. • Follow the path across the sky: Explore interactive charts with stars, constellations, the Milky Way, and the Moon. • Know the key moments: Check when a satellite rises, reaches its highest visible point, and disappears from view. • Set a reminder: Schedule an alert for the pass you want to watch. • Explore beyond the space stations: Browse thousands of satellites, including bright satellites and recent launches. Explore the live planetarium in the Sky now tab. Search passing satellites, filter by distance or illumination, follow their paths, and report the brightness you observe.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Space Station Passes at 5.0 against SpaceStationAR LITE's 4.5. Space Station Passes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). SpaceStationAR LITE's advantage is ratings volume (140 vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On price and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Space Station Passes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SpaceStationAR LITE has 140 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
SpaceStationAR LITE ships an update fortnightly, Space Station Passes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SpaceStationAR LITE | Space Station Passes |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (140 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 140 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 220 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Toriningen Co.,Ltd. | Sihao Lu |
Customer experience
SpaceStationAR LITE
Space Station Passes
In-app purchases
SpaceStationAR LITE
No in-app purchases
Space Station Passes
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SpaceStationAR LITE free?
Is Space Station Passes free?
Which has better reviews, SpaceStationAR LITE or Space Station Passes?
Do SpaceStationAR LITE or Space Station Passes have ads?
Which is updated more often, SpaceStationAR LITE or Space Station Passes?
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