Comparison

SpaceStationAR LITE vs OrbitSmith

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

OrbitSmith

Features
Read full description

OrbitSmith is a free, open-source space situational awareness toolkit that puts the orbital environment at your fingertips. REAL-TIME 3D TRACKER Visualize 30,000+ objects orbiting Earth — active satellites, rocket bodies, and debris — rendered in real-time 3D with Blue Marble Earth textures. Tap any object to see its orbital details, search by name or NORAD ID, and track conjunction events from Space-Track CDM data. VISIBLE PASS PREDICTIONS Know exactly when to look up. OrbitSmith predicts visible passes of ISS, Tiangong, Starlink, and hundreds of bright satellites using SGP4 orbital propagation with real TLE data. Interactive sky charts with 44 reference stars help you find the satellite in the sky. NOTIFICATIONS & WIDGETS Never miss a bright pass. Receive push notifications before ISS and other satellites become visible, and check your next pass at a glance with lock screen and home screen widgets. MISSION DESIGNER Design satellite missions with a 5-step wizard. Choose from 7 mission templates, configure orbital parameters, run power/link/thermal/mass/orbit decay analysis, and find compatible launch vehicles from a database of 10 rockets. SATELLITE IMAGERY Browse 21 layers of satellite imagery from NASA, ESA, and ESRI — including MODIS true color, VIIRS night lights, sea surface temperature, vegetation health, and Sentinel-2 cloudless. All orbital data sourced from the U.S. Space Force via Space-Track.org.

Screenshots

SpaceStationAR LITE4 screens
OrbitSmith4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: OrbitSmith at none against SpaceStationAR LITE's shown. SpaceStationAR LITE's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SpaceStationAR LITE ships an update every 2 weeks, OrbitSmith every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SpaceStationAR LITE versus OrbitSmith: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpaceStationAR LITEOrbitSmith
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (140 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings140 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToriningen Co.,Ltd.Seita Iizuka

In-app purchases

None

SpaceStationAR LITE

No in-app purchases

None

OrbitSmith

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SpaceStationAR LITE free?
SpaceStationAR LITE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OrbitSmith free?
OrbitSmith is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SpaceStationAR LITE or OrbitSmith have ads?
SpaceStationAR LITE shows ads; OrbitSmith does not.
Which is updated more often, SpaceStationAR LITE or OrbitSmith?
SpaceStationAR LITE ships an update every 2 weeks, and OrbitSmith every 3 weeks. Most recently, SpaceStationAR LITE was updated on October 14, 2026 and OrbitSmith on October 1, 2026.

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