How to see the International Space Station from Earth as 'stranded' NASA astronauts are finally set to return
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally due to land back on Earth, and some 280 days after they stepped onto the International Space Station, they're due to be rescued NASA's Crew-10 relief team.
While the original mission was only due to take eight days, issues with their craft meant it was flown back unmanned and the pair were forced to wait for a new crew to fly up to replace them on the ISS.
There were plans to put the Crew-10 team on a new Dragon spacecraft, but due to mounting pressure and complaints that Williams and Wilmore had been 'forgotten' by the Biden administration, NASA eventually settled on reusing an existing Dragon.
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Although Williams has insisted the astronauts aren't stranded, we're sure they'll be glad to get home after missing birthdays, Thanksgiving, and New Year celebrations.
The dynamic duo will immediately be rushed off on a stretcher for a 'brutal' rehab regime, but more than catching a glimpse of them landing, you'll soon by able to spot the ISS.
Looking at NASA's Spot the Station site, the ISS will be visible from the Kennedy Space Center for four minutes on Thursday, March 13.
Those who want to look to the skies will be able to see the ISS at 8:36 PM (local time), appearing at 10° above WNW and disappearing at 10° above N.
There are plenty of other positions you'll be able to see the ISS. Those at the Statue of Liberty will be able to snatch a seven-minute glimpse on Friday, March 14 at 7:50 PM.
President Donald Trump can get a six-minute look on March 12 at 7:49 PM, or five minutes on March 13 at 8:38 PM.
Can't stop, won't stop going to space 🚀
— NASA (@NASA) March 11, 2025
NASA's @SpaceX #Crew10 mission is scheduled to send four new crew members to the @Space_Station at 7:48pm ET (2348 UTC) on Wednesday, March 12. Live coverage starts at 3:45pm ET (1945 UTC)—watch with us here on X. pic.twitter.com/tfSSBreCad
With Musk being awarded a lucrative contract to destroy the ISS, you might want to get a look while you still can. Even though the SpaceX boss has said he wants to deorbit the space station in the next two years, Williams herself has suggested it would be wrong to do it before 2030, saying the ISS is currently in its prime.
The ISS has happily been sat up there since 1998, and despite being some 250 miles above us, the fact it circles the Earth 15.5 times a day means it's often not too hard to catch a glimpse of.
NASA says that although the ISS looks a bit like an airplane moving across the sky, the fact it flies at 28,000 kilometers per hour means it'll appear much quicker. Thankfully, the fact its roughly the size of a football field means the ISS isn't too hard to spot with the naked eye - as long as the horizon isn't cluttered and the skies are clear.
The Spot the Station site can pinpoint locations around the globe, meaning it's not just those in the USA who'll be able to take a look at the ISS in all its glory.
With Williams and Wilmore due to land on March 16, their nine-month extended stay in space is nearly at an end.