The International Space Station Makes Eight Visible Passes Over Los Angeles October 12 to 19

World Space Week, the UN-declared celebration held October 4 to 10 each year, wraps up on October 10, but Los Angeles gets a week of space-station sightings right behind it. NASA's Spot the Station lists eight visible passes of the International Space Station over Los Angeles between Monday, October 12 and Monday, October 19, 2026, all in the pre-dawn hours.

The standout is Wednesday, October 14 at 5:53 AM, a six-minute pass that climbs to 68 degrees above the horizon, appearing in the southwest and disappearing in the northeast. Other good windows are Monday, October 12 at 5:52 AM (five minutes, low in the southern sky), Thursday, October 15 at 5:09 AM (three minutes) and Friday, October 16 at 5:57 AM (four minutes).

According to NASA, the station orbits about 250 miles above Earth at 17,500 mph, circling the planet about every 90 minutes, and is visible to the naked eye because it reflects sunlight; it looks like a very bright star or airplane with no flashing lights and never changes direction. Griffith Observatory follows with a free Public Star Party on Saturday, October 17 from 2:00 PM to 9:45 PM.