Iss Tracking Data
Pricing
from $10.00 / 1,000 results
Iss Tracking Data
What does ISS Tracking Data do?
ISS Tracking Data retrieves the real-time position of the International Space Station and provides current crew information. It returns the ISS latitude and longitude coordinates, a UTC timestamp, the total number of astronauts currently in space, and a detailed list of crew members with their assigned spacecraft. This actor is ideal for space enthusiasts, educators, dashboard builders, and anyone interested in tracking the ISS as it orbits Earth at 17,500 miles per hour.
Why track the International Space Station?
The International Space Station is the largest human-made structure in space and continuously orbits Earth every 90 minutes. Tracking its position enables educational applications, live map visualizations, overhead pass notifications, and space science research. Students and teachers use ISS tracking data for STEM lessons, developers build real-time dashboards and mobile apps, and journalists reference crew data for news stories about space exploration.
How to track the ISS
- Open the ISS Tracking Data actor on Apify.
- No configuration is needed for basic tracking.
- Click Start and wait for the data to load.
- The actor returns the current ISS position and crew manifest.
- Download results in JSON, CSV, Excel, or other formats.
Input parameters
| Parameter | Type | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| includePassTimes | boolean | Include ISS pass times for a location (may be deprecated) | false |
| latitude | string | Your latitude for pass time predictions | "40.7128" |
| longitude | string | Your longitude for pass time predictions | "-74.0060" |
Output data
Each result contains:
- latitude - Current ISS latitude
- longitude - Current ISS longitude
- timestamp - Unix timestamp of the position reading
- timestampIso - ISO 8601 formatted timestamp
- crewCount - Total number of astronauts currently in space
- crewMembers - Array of crew members with name and spacecraft
- issCrewMembers - Names of astronauts specifically on the ISS
- allAstronauts - Formatted list of all astronauts and their spacecraft
Cost of usage
ISS Tracking Data is one of the most lightweight actors available, making just two small API calls per run.
- Per result: $0.01
- Per 1,000 results: $10
- Actor start: $0.005
Runs complete in seconds, making it essentially free on the Apify free tier.
Tips and advanced options
- Works with zero configuration. Just click Start to get the current ISS position and crew.
- Schedule runs every few minutes to build a position history and create orbit visualizations.
- The crew manifest includes astronauts from all spacecraft (ISS, Tiangong, etc.) currently in orbit.
- Combine position data with a mapping library to create live ISS tracking maps.
- The ISS completes an orbit every 90 minutes, so frequent tracking reveals its ground track pattern.
- For related space data, see SpaceX Launch Tracker for rocket launches and CrossRef Academic Publication Search for space science publications.
