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ISS passing by Venus on Sunday evening

Last week the International Space Station (ISS) made several bright passes over our area. This week's photo features the ISS passing by our sister planet Venus, on Sunday evening.

The "International Space Station" is the largest and most complex international scientific project in history. More than four times as large as the Russian Mir space station, the completed International Space Station will have a mass of about 1 million pounds. It will measure about 360 feet across and 290 feet long, with almost an acre of solar panels to provide electrical power to six state-of-the-art laboratories.

The station is in an orbit with an altitude of 250 statute miles with an inclination of 51.6 degrees. This orbit allows the station to be reached by the launch vehicles of all the international partners to provide a robust capability for the delivery of crews and supplies. The orbit also provides excellent Earth observations with coverage of 85 percent of the globe and over flight of 95 percent of the population.

For students seeking research information or those who would simply like to know more, in depth information on the space station, astronauts and mission is available at the NASA Space Station, "Facts Sheet Library". More recent images of the ISS are below.

ISS passing through Milky Way	ISS at sunset on Tuesday evening