Tracking the International Space Station

It's easy to track and spot the station the International Space Station (ISS) at night during a nearly overhead pass.

Use the n2yo.com Web site to get tracking information about the ISS. By default, the track of the ISS is displayed on a world map. Click on the blue button in the right sidebar labeled "10-day predictions for Space Station." Look for a pass when the elevation (El) is higher, that is closer to 90 degrees, such as the 82° El pass highlighted by a red rectangle in the following image.

n2yo.com | 10-Day Predictions

Click on "Map and details" in the far right column.

n2yo.com | Map and details for ISS pass prediction

At maximum altitude, the magnitude of the ISS was -2.4, making it one of the brightest objects in the night sky.

Hearing the ISS

Grab a ham radio and go outside to a clear place. Tune the radio to the frequency for the ISS, in this case 437.800 MHz, and listen during the window of time between the "Start" and "End" times shown in the table of 10-day predictions. A relatively inexpensive radio such as the Baofeng UV-R5 should work just fine; it sells on Amazon for around $20.

I planned to use my Apple iPad mini 2 (running the Apple "Voice Memos" app) to record audio from the Baofeng UV-5R radio.

Apple iPad mini 2 / Apple "Voice Memos" app | Baofeng UV-5R

Notice I said "planned." I heard insects, air conditioners, airplanes, and helicopters, but I never heard the ISS on radio. See Tech Tips (below) for related information.

Seeing the ISS

I used my iPad mini 6 (running the "Final Cut Camera" app) to record video because the Google Machine says it works better than the Apple "Camera" app for recording video at night. 

Final Cut Camera is a free iOS app by Apple that gives your iPhone professional manual video controls and live multi-camera recording. Source Credit: Google AI Overview.

I shot the video handheld, against my better judgement. I should have turned on the camera stabilization feature of "Final Cut Camera." In my defense, this was the first time I've used the app and I knew almost nothing about how it works.

The next two images show the end points of the part of the ISS's path that I captured on video, from near the zenith (A) heading toward the northeastern horizon (B).

Final Cut Camera app (frame grab) | ISS, Point A

Final Cut Camera app (frame grab) | ISS, Point B

The pass started at 20:29 (8:29 PM) and ended at 20:39 (8:39 PM). There was so much air traffic I missed the best part of the pass before I was sure I was actually looking at the ISS. A shorter segment of the 10 minute pass is shown in the following video.

09 SEP 2026 | International Space Station

Tech Tips

I used the "Rubber Ducky" antenna (~6" long) that is included with the Baofeng UV-5R radio. I need to connect a V-dipole antenna to the UV-5R in order to determine whether it can improve radio reception ofrom the ISS.

Luis Acosta, my good friend and radio guru, used the "Antenna Tool" app to show me how to "tune" a V-dipole antenna for receiving radio signals from the ISS. The following image shows the "Rubber Ducky" antenna is about half as long as the optimum dipole length recommended for good reception from the ISS.

"Antenna Tool" app (Android version) | Antenna tuning for 437.8 MHz

The "Antenna Tool" app is available for both Apple iOS and Android.

Related Resources

• Spot the Station app (by NASA)
• ARISS - Amateur Radio on the International Space Station and ISS Ham Radio Status
• Final Cut Camera User Guide - Apple Support
• iPhone Filmmaking: How to Use the Final Cut Camera App (8:29) by Camp Films

Copyright © 2026 by Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.