International Space Station from above

This photo was taken in 2011 from Space Shuttle Discovery as it left the Station for Earth on her last voyage before retirement. ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle Johannes Kepler is docked with the Station at the bottom of the photo, while the golden module at the top is Japan’s own supply ferry.

The Station circles Earth at 28 800 km/h, taking only 90 minutes to complete a full circuit. It can be seen and photographed without special equipment as it passes overhead. As it moves so fast, the hard part is to know when and where to look.