How Fast Does the ISS Travel? Speed, Orbit Time, and Altitude Explained

The International Space Station moves fast. Very fast. It travels at roughly 28,000 kilometers per hour, which is about 7.66 kilometers every second. At that speed it would cross the United States in under ten minutes. Our live dashboard shows the current velocity in the map readout, and it barely changes because orbital speed is set by physics, not by an engine.

Why it goes exactly that fast

A spacecraft in orbit is really in a constant state of falling toward Earth while moving sideways fast enough to keep missing it. The required speed depends only on altitude. Lower orbits need higher speed. At the station's altitude of about 400 to 420 kilometers, that balance works out to close to 7.66 kilometers per second. If it slowed down, it would fall; if it sped up, it would climb to a higher orbit.

How often it circles Earth

At that speed the ISS completes one full lap of the planet in about 90 to 93 minutes. That adds up to roughly 15 to 16 orbits every single day. For the crew it means something remarkable: they see about 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets in each 24 hour period, one every 45 minutes or so.

• Orbital speed: about 28,000 km/h (7.66 km/s)
• Time for one orbit: roughly 90 to 93 minutes
• Orbits per day: about 15 to 16
• Altitude: around 400 to 420 km
• Orbital inclination: 51.6 degrees, so it passes over most of the populated world

Speed and altitude are linked

The station slowly loses height as it brushes against the thin traces of atmosphere still present at its altitude. As it drops, it actually speeds up slightly, which is one of the stranger facts about orbital mechanics. Periodic reboosts push it back up, and its speed settles again. You can watch this rise and fall on the altitude chart over a few days.

Putting it in perspective

A commercial jet cruises at about 900 km/h. The ISS is more than 30 times faster. It is one of the fastest crewed vehicles ever, and it has been keeping up that pace, without stopping, since the year 2000. For more numbers like this, see our ISS by the numbers rundown.