Spatial visibility simulation

Can a passenger see the ISS?

Yes, when the station rises above the aircraft's local horizon. It can be hundreds of kilometres away and still sit in the same patch of sky.

CHECKING LOCAL HORIZON…

Aircraft altitude ≈ 11 km at ≈ 0.24 km/s. ISS altitude ≈ 400 km at ≈ 7.66 km/s. Both are above the same spherical Earth, so a passenger can look upward and see the ISS.

The ISS does NOT need to be physically close to the aircraft to appear near it in the sky. Objects that look close together from the ground can be hundreds of kilometres apart in 3D space.

Visualization scale is exaggerated so the 11 km aircraft altitude remains visible. Enable “Show actual 3D geometry” for proportional altitudes.

EARTH · 6,371 km radius
AIRCRAFT · ~11 km
ISS · ~400 km
LINE OF SIGHT
PASSENGER WINDOW VIEW · the bright object is the ISS