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The International Space Station glides through the pre-dawn sky in this time exposure photograph taken from Chula Vista, CA.
SPACE STATION VISIBLE OVER MOST OF U.S. DURING HOLIDAYS
Santa will have company in the sky over most of the United States this holiday season. The International Space Station is visible in the early morning, flying by at five miles a second. Information about how, when and where to see it is available on the Internet at:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/isssightings
All sightings available from U.S. cities during the holidays are pre-dawn sightings. The station is not expected to be visible in the evenings.
THE FOLLOWING ISS SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM DEC 27 TO JAN 2
|
SATELLITE |
LOCAL |
DURATION |
MAX ELEV |
APPROACH |
DEPARTURE |
|
DATE/TIME |
(MIN) |
(DEG) |
(DEG-DIR) |
(DEG-DIR) |
|
|
ISS |
Mon Dec 27/06:15 AM |
3 |
18 |
10 above N | 17 above NE |
|
ISS |
Wed Dec 29/05:33 AM |
2 |
20 |
15 above N | 19 above NE |
|
ISS |
Thr Dec 30/06:00 AM |
3 |
88 |
17 above NW | 54 above SE |
|
ISS |
Fri Dec 31/06:26 AM |
< 1 |
14 |
10 above W | 14 above W |
|
ISS |
Sat Jan 01/05:20 AM |
1 |
68 |
68 above S | 31 above SSE |
The 200-ton plus station, which is more than 170 feet long and 240 feet wide, will be visible from most continental U.S. cities, as well as Juneau, Alaska, on various days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. The Station's crew, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, will celebrate the holidays aboard the orbiting research complex this year.
Chiao and Sharipov received a special delivery on Dec. 25 as a Russian cargo spacecraft docked with the Station. The cargo ship brought 5,000 pounds of supplies, including food, water, fuel, spare equipment and Christmas presents from home.
For those areas with opportunities to view the Station on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mornings, the Progress cargo spacecraft also may have been visible as it closed in on the Station to dock with the International Space Station about 7:05 p.m. EST. Holiday greetings from the Station crew, video of Mission Control's season's greetings and footage of Mission Control tracking Santa Claus also are airing daily on NASA TV.
NASA TV is available on the Web and via satellite in the continental U.S. on AMC-6, Transponder 9C, C-Band, at 72 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
In Alaska and Hawaii, NASA TV is available on AMC-7, Transponder 18C, C-Band, at 137 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 4060.0 MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80 MHz.
For information about NASA TV and to view it on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
Chiao and Sharipov are a third of the way through a six-month stay conducting research aboard the complex. Research aboard the Station helps people learn how to live and work for long periods in space. That information is a crucial step in realizing the Vision for Space Exploration, which in the years ahead will return humans to the moon and see them journey to Mars and beyond.
For more information about the Expedition 10 crew, visit:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov
For more information about NASA and other agency programs on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov