The International Space Station compared to a school bus

A research station the size of a football pitch in low Earth orbit, where people live and work; one of the brightest, fastest-moving things in the night sky.

How big is the International Space Station compared to a school bus?

The International Space Station is roughly nine times as long as a school bus.

How far away is the International Space Station from Earth compared to an airliner’s cruising height?

The International Space Station sits about 38 times an airliner’s cruising height from Earth.

How much mass does the International Space Station have compared to a school bus?

The International Space Station has roughly 35 times the mass of a school bus.

Worth knowing about the International Space Station

Its size: 109 m × 73 m; pressurised volume about as roomy as a six-bedroom house.

Why it stands out: Bright enough to see with just your eyes: after dusk or before dawn it looks like a fast, steady “star” crossing the whole sky in a few minutes, reflecting sunlight while the ground below is still dark. Continuously crewed since November 2000 by crews from many countries, taking turns; assembly began in 1998 with the Russian Zarya module.
How it moves: Altitude 420.4 km; period 92.98 minutes; inclined 51.6° to the equator.
The mission: A joint project of NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA — a laboratory in orbit for studying microgravity, astronaut health, and Earth and space science; expected to keep flying until about 2030.

The International Space Station — Rendered from NASA’s model, not photographed.

The numbers

Longest dimension	109 m
Distance from Earth	420.4 km
Once round its orbit	92.98 minutes

How anyone knows this

We know where it is because we track it.

Games it appears in

Which is more massive?

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