Planning to be one of the millions participating in the
20th Annual National Night Out (NNO) tonight? The
International Space Station and its crew will be flying 240
miles overhead at the same time. So, in hundreds of cities
residents need only look up to get a glimpse of the unique
orbiting laboratory.
The Space Station is visible to the unaided eye and will
appear as a small, steady, fast-moving point of light (not
blinking). The Space Station generally follows a west to
east path. Given the speed of the Station, 17,500 miles per
hour, most telescopes are not practical for tracking the
orbiting lab, however, a good pair of binoculars may reveal
some detail of the Station’s structure.
Station commander Yuri Malenchenko and NASA’s Station
Science Officer Ed Lu are living and working on board the
orbital laboratory, maintaining systems and conducting
science experiments. More than 60 experiments, spanning a
range of scientific disciplines, have been conducted aboard
the Station. The crew also participates in a variety of
education-related activities, including more than 40 unique
space-based demonstrations for students.
As a research lab, the Station lets us explore a new world
of science without the masking force of gravity. It also
serves as our next step in exploring the universe around us,
sustains U.S. leadership in space, strengthens international
cooperation, helps to inspire and educate the next
generation of inventors and explorers.
NNO, a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the
National Association of Town Watch, encourages closer
cooperation between citizens, civic groups, businesses,
neighborhood organizations, local officials and law
enforcement agencies to make their communities safer.
Last year, 9,850 communities from all 56 states and U.S.
territories, Canadian cities and military bases world-wide
marked the 19th Annual NNO by turning on outside lights,
with front porch vigils, crime prevention block parties,
cookouts, ice cream socials, parades, neighborhood visits by
local law enforcement agencies, flashlight walks, safety
fairs, poster and essay contests, and neighborhood meetings.
For information about this year’s events on the Internet,
visit:
For detailed sighting information for the International
Space Station, and to learn about NASA’s “Skywatch” Program
on the Internet, visit:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
To learn more about the Station crew and their activities,
visit:
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov
For information about NASA on the Internet, visit:
