Where the ISS at? API
Free ISS tracking API with no key: live position, altitude, velocity, footprint and solar position, plus TLE orbital elements and future position prediction. Tested.
Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 2026-08-20
What is the Where the ISS at? API?
Where the ISS at? is a free, key-free API providing the International Space Station's live position with altitude, velocity, ground footprint, visibility and solar position, plus TLE orbital elements and the ability to predict future positions.
This goes considerably beyond a bare latitude and longitude. It returns altitude, velocity, the radius of the ground footprint the station can see, whether it is in daylight or eclipse, and the solar position — everything needed for a proper tracker.
The `timestamps` parameter is the standout feature: you can request the station's position at up to ten arbitrary past or future times in one call, which makes orbit path prediction straightforward without implementing orbital mechanics yourself.
Quick facts
- Base URL
https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1- Authentication
- No API key required.
- Rate limit
- Roughly 1 request per second.
- Pricing
- Free.
- CORS
- Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
- Official docs
- Read the docs
How to use the Where the ISS at? API
Every request below was executed against the live API on 2026-08-20, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.
1. Fetch the ISS's current position
GET https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544
curl 'https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544'const res = await fetch("https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json()){
"name": "iss",
"id": 25544,
"latitude": -28.766401147222,
"longitude": 118.23718780477,
"altitude": 431.1761990394,
"velocity": 27541.13439054,
"visibility": "daylight",
"footprint": 4563.8914233198,
"timestamp": 1787208386,
"daynum": 2461272.7822454,
"solar_lat": 12.41458952195,
"solar_lon": 79.252789662255,
"units": "kilometers"
}2. Fetch the ISS two-line orbital elements
GET https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544/tles
curl 'https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544/tles'const res = await fetch("https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544/tles");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);import requests
res = requests.get("https://api.wheretheiss.at/v1/satellites/25544/tles", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json()){
"requested_timestamp": 1787208387,
"tle_timestamp": 1787082431,
"id": "25544",
"name": "iss",
"header": "ISS (ZARYA)",
"line1": "1 25544U 98067A 26230.82443714 .00008426 00000+0 15812-3 0 9995",
"line2": "2 25544 51.6332 350.0835 0007621 60.8158 299.3593 15.49494626581464"
}Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
satellites/25544 | path | Required | The ISS NORAD catalogue id. satellites/25544 |
timestamps | string | Optional | Comma-separated Unix timestamps, up to 10, for past or future positions. 1787000000,1787000600 |
units | string | Optional | kilometers or miles. kilometers |
satellites/25544/tles | path | Optional | Two-line element orbital data. tles |
coordinates/<lat>,<lon> | path | Optional | Timezone and offset for a ground position. coordinates/37.7,-122.4 |
Response fields
latitude / longitudenumber- Current position as real numbers, not strings.
altitudenumber- Altitude above Earth in kilometres.
velocitynumber- Orbital speed in km/h — around 27,600.
footprintnumber- Diameter of the ground area visible from the station.
visibilitystring- daylight or eclipsed.
solar_lat / solar_lonnumber- Subsolar point, for day/night terminator rendering.
timestampinteger- Unix timestamp of the position.
What you can build with the Where the ISS at? API
- Build a live ISS tracker with an orbit path
- Predict when the station passes over a location
- Render the day/night terminator using solar position
- Teach orbital mechanics with real live data
Common errors and how to fix them
429
Exceeding roughly one request per second.
Fix: The ISS moves predictably — poll every few seconds at most, or use timestamps to fetch a path in one call.
Only 10 timestamps accepted
The batch limit is ten.
Fix: Split longer orbit paths across several requests.
Coordinates as numbers here
Unlike Open Notify, values are real numbers.
Fix: No parsing needed — a small but welcome difference.
Where the ISS at? API — frequently asked questions
Is this ISS tracking API free?
Yes, completely free with no API key, limited to roughly one request per second.
How is it better than the Open Notify ISS API?
It returns altitude, velocity, ground footprint, visibility and solar position rather than just coordinates, and can predict positions at arbitrary timestamps.
Can I predict where the ISS will be later?
Yes, pass up to ten Unix timestamps in the `timestamps` parameter — past or future — and get positions for each, which makes drawing an orbit path straightforward.
What is the footprint field?
The diameter of the circular area on Earth's surface visible from the station at that moment — useful for drawing coverage on a map.
Tools that pair with this API
JSON Formatter
Format, beautify and minify JSON online with 2-space, 4-space or tab indentation. Sort keys alphabetically and catch syntax errors instantly — free and private.
Unit Converter
Convert between units of length, weight, temperature, area, volume, speed, time and data storage instantly, with a swap button and common conversion tables.
Timestamp Converter
Convert timestamps to human-readable dates and dates back to timestamps. Auto-detects seconds vs milliseconds, shows local, UTC and ISO 8601 formats.
Where the ISS at? is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 2026-08-20; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.