User Guide
Covers version 7.18
Contents
1. Track
To locate and track the ISS (default), Tiangong, or Hubble in real time, tap the play button at the bottom of the screen. To pause tracking, tap the pause button.
Switching Targets
To change the target satellite to ISS, Tiangong, or Hubble, tap the target button at the top-left of the screen.
Map Types
You can select from the following map types in Settings from the Tracking screen:
- Standard (shows names, roads, and borders)
- Satellite (shows terrain only)
- Hybrid (the default setting that shows borders, names, roads, and terrain)
To zoom in or out of the map, use the slider control at the top. This changes the map's scale, which is displayed in degrees to the right of the zoom slider.
You can set the map scale range in Settings to any of the following ranges (in degrees):
- Fine: 0.10° - 3.00° (0.15° - 3.00° for iPad)
- Small: 0.33° - 10.00°
- Medium: 1.00° - 30.00° (the default setting)
- Large: 3.00° - 90.00°
There are three styles of markers, which you can select in Settings:
- Icon — The icon changes to represent the current target. This is the default setting.
- Circular
- Small +
The time interval between map updates is automatically set from 1 to 6 seconds based on the zoom slider setting. The update interval is set at 1 second with the slider to the left. As you drag the slider right, it increases by 1 second up to a maximum interval of 6 seconds. This keeps the map's relative motion roughly equal at all scales within a given range.
Ground Track
The orbit ground track line is drawn by default. This shows the ground track of the selected target. You can turn this on/off in Settings by tapping the settings icon from the 2D tracking map. The ground track clear button is displayed on the Tracking screen when the orbit track is on. The track is automatically cleared when the target is switched to another satellite.
3D Globe Overlay
The globe shows the current position of the selected target, its orbital track, and the viewing range circle. The globe is a photorealistic model of the Earth, complete with accurate Sun subsolar position, specular reflections on the water, seasonal tilt, mountain shadows, and other details. Drag the globe to rotate and pan it. The circle represents the approximate target sighting range from ground level. Autorotation is enabled by default and rotates the globe once every 90 seconds. To disable autorotation and enable/disable the globe overlay entirely, go to Settings. Tapping the expand icon on the globe overlay or the globe button on the tab bar expands the globe to full-screen mode and hides the map. Tap the reset button to reset the globe.
Copy Info to the Clipboard
Tap the copy icon next to the info box on the bottom of the map to copy the target's location, altitude, velocity, and associated time to the clipboard. You can then paste the data in another app.
Notes:
- If the Information box overlay setting is turned off in Settings, the copy button will not be available.
- The music soundtrack will be disabled (not play) by default. Click the ♪ icon at the upper right to toggle the soundtrack on/off.
2. Globe
From the Tracking screen, tapping the expand icon on the globe overlay or the globe icon on the tab bar expands the globe to full-screen mode and hides the map.
The full-screen 3D interactive globe shows the current position of the ISS, Tiangong, and Hubble. It plots its orbital tracks and ground track footprints (viewing range circle). The ISS track and footprint are red, gold for the Tiangong, and blue for the Hubble.
The globe is a photorealistic model of the Earth, complete with accurate subsolar position, specular reflections on the water, seasonal tilt, mountain shadows, and other details.
The globe starts updating automatically when in full-screen mode.
Using Gestures
- Drag the globe with one finger to rotate the globe.
- Drag the globe with two fingers to move it around (translation).
- Use pinch gestures to zoom in/out of the globe.
- Rotate with two fingers to tilt the globe.
Choose Your Background
From Settings, you can select from six backgrounds for your full-screen globe. These are:
- Hubble Deep Field (default)
- Milky Way
- Orion Nebula
- Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
- James Webb Space Telescope Deep Field
- Just black
Notes:
- The red, gold, and blue circles represent the approximate ISS, Tiangong, and Hubble sighting ranges (i.e., footprints) from ground level under perfect conditions. Use the Pass Predictor to get viewable ISS, Tiangong, or Hubble passes from your exact location.
- Autorotation is enabled by default and rotates the globe once every 90 seconds.
- To enable/disable autorotation, tap the toggle autorotation button on the upper-right or go to Settings.
- Tap the reset button on the upper-right of the globe scene to reset the globe.
- The music soundtrack will be disabled (not play) by default. Click the ♪ icon at the upper right to toggle the soundtrack on/off.
Tap the collapse button at the top right of the globe scene or the back button to return to the tracking screen.
3. Passes
Tapping the binoculars icon at the bottom of the main screen starts computing upcoming visible ISS, Tiangong, or Hubble passes. First, ISS Real-Time Tracker 3D gets your current location's coordinates. Then, it computes the ISS, Tiangong, or Hubble passes that should be visible (weather permitting) from your location. The default number of days to predict passes is set in Settings and can be overridden in the Passes screen. The passes are listed in chronological order, along with detailed viewing data.
Data for each pass includes:
- Date of the pass
- Rating (0 - 4 stars)
- Visible duration (in minutes and seconds)
- Max visual magnitude (using the same scale as astronomical brightness, i.e., apparent magnitude)
- Time, azimuth, elevation, and compass direction for the start time, max elevation time, and end time
Each pass is rated based on its maximum magnitude (i.e., brightness). The brightest passes get the highest ratings. Passes are rated with 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 stars corresponding to relatively poor, fair, good, better, or best, respectively.
Switching Targets
Tap the switch target button in the navigation bar to switch between the ISS, Tiangong, and Hubble. The table will automatically refresh and present passes for the selected target.
Adding a Pass Event to Your Calendar
Tap any pass in the table to add it as an event in your calendar. When adding a pass to your calendar, two alerts will be set: the first for 1 hour before and the second for 15 minutes before the start of the pass. The starting and ending times for the pass are saved in the event in your calendar, along with the maximum magnitude and the starting, maximum, and ending azimuths and elevations for the pass.
Changing the Number of Days to Compute
Tap the Calendar icon at the top-right of the screen to change the number of days to compute and refresh the list. You can also change the number of days so that the app remembers your settings for the next time in Settings.
Pull-to-Refresh
Drag down the table to refresh the data.
Notes:
- The pass predictions become less certain the further out in time they go.
- Overhead passes returned are only those visible from your location for at least 300 seconds (5 minutes) and where the ISS is illuminated by the Sun.
- Tiangong pass predictions do not currently include the magnitude of the passes and are, therefore, not rated. The stars are greyed out. This may change in the future once the magnitude data are provided for the Tiangong.
- If there are buildings, trees, or other obstructions, and depending upon the weather and other viewing conditions, you may not be able to spot the space station.
- You must give ISS Real-Time Tracker 3D access to your location. When asked, tap "OK." You can change this permission in your device's Settings app.
- Calendar events are saved in your default calendar.
Tap the back button to return to the map and resume tracking.
4. Crew
Tap the astronaut icon at the bottom of the screen to get a table of information about the current space station crew.
Switching Stations
Tap the switch target button in the navigation bar to switch between the ISS and Tiangong. The table will automatically refresh and present the crew data for the selected space station.
Crew Bios & Tweets
Tap any cell in the table to pop up the detail view for that crewmember. This will display a brief bio. To view the full bio, tap the biography icon.
To visit the crew member's X feed, open their X profile by tapping the X button. If you do not have the X app installed, it will open in Safari instead. The X button will not be displayed if the crewmember does not have an X profile. Return to ISS Real-Time Tracker 3D by tapping "◀︎ ISS Tracker" at the top left of X.
Tap X to close the pop-up and return to the crew table.
Copy Crew Data to the Clipboard
Tap the copy icon at the top-right of the screen to copy the crew names, titles, and nationalities to the clipboard. You can then paste them into another app.
Pull-to-Refresh
Drag down the table to refresh the data.
Tap the back button to return to the map and resume tracking.
5. Settings
All of your current user settings are automatically saved on your device when you exit the app or switch to another app. This also includes the current zoom slider position. Each time you run ISS Real-Time Tracker 3D, your settings are restored.
Tapping the ⟳ button on the Settings title bar will clear all your user settings and change them back to their defaults. The zoom slider will reset to its default (center) position, and What's New and other messages will be restored.
Tap the back button to return to the tracking view.
6. Using the Apple Watch App
If you own an Apple Watch, installing the app on your iPhone or iPad will install the companion app on your watch.
The watch app shows an interactive 3D globe with the real-time positions of the ISS, Tiangong, and Hubble. It also provides live position details, the subsolar point, pass predictions for each satellite, crew listings, stats, and bios.
From the globe view, tap the reset button at the bottom-left of the watch face to restore the globe to its starting position. Tap the rotation button to disable/enable the globe's autorotation.
To see live position information for the three satellites and the subsolar point, tap the live position button (third from left). The positions are updated in real-time every three seconds.
Get pass predictions on your Apple Watch for the ISS, Tiangong, and Hubble. Tap the live position button, then tap the ISS, Tiangong, or Hubble position details. You'll get a list of your location's visible passes for that satellite for the next 30 days. Like the iPhone and iPad apps, each ISS pass is rated 0 - 4 stars. Tap any of the passes to get viewing details for that pass. Tapping the subsolar point provides a discussion of the subsolar point.
Tap the crew button (bottom-right) to get crew information for the ISS and Tiangong. Scroll to see the crews for each station. Tap a crew member to get their details.
Tap the back button to return to the globe.