The International Space Station will be visible to the naked eye tonight, weather permitting.  The station orbits the Earth at a height of 254 miles and travels at a mind-blowing 17,500 miles per hour, or 4.76 miles per second. 

• Tonight, it will become visible at 9:49 PM in the northwestern sky and will travel to the southeast.  It will be visible for about 4 minutes.  It will move at a maximum height of about 88° above the horizon.

The space station will look like a bright star, like the North Star, and will be moving quickly across the evening sky. 

The space station passes overhead many times a day but lighting conditions usually make it difficult or impossible to see.  All sightings will occur within a few hours before or after sunrise or sunset. This is the optimum viewing period as the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky.