1. About
  2. Earth
    1. ISS
    2. Aqua
    3. GOES-14
    4. JWST
  3. Moon
    1. LADEE
    2. NRHO
  4. Mercury
    1. MESSENGER
  5. Venus
    1. Venus Express
  6. Mars
    1. MRO
    2. MAVEN
  7. Interplanetary
    1. MAVEN transfer

ISS

Low Earth orbit (LEO)

Files

Click here to download the trajectory.
Click here to download the run options file.

Description

The International Space Station (ISS) is jointly operated by NASA, Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).  Its first component was launched in 1998 and it has been continuously occupied by astronauts since 2000.  It orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400~km; at this height, atmospheric drag causes orbital decay and the station requires regular reboosts to maintain its orbit.

The ISS, like other spacecraft in low Earth orbit, is separated from the Earth’s surface by a distance that is significantly less than the Earth’s radius.  As a result, the Earth blocks most meteoroids approaching the spacecraft from the nadir direction.

Graphics

Trajectory in inertial frame

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Trajectory in Sun-centered ecliptic frame

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Meteoroid flux and properties

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Meteoroid directionality in body-fixed frame

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