Each ISS orbit lands farther west
The International Space Station circles Earth about every 92.9 minutes, but it does not come back over the same town one orbit later. While it goes around, Earth turns east underneath it, so the next ground track is drawn roughly 23 degrees farther west. This page takes one equator crossing, the ascending node where the station heads from south to north, with its time and longitude, and works out when and at what longitude the following crossings happen. It also shows in plain numbers why "it will be visible again in 92.9 minutes" does not hold.
How the numbers are worked out
Orbits per day is 1,440 minutes divided by the period. The westward shift per orbit is Earth's rotation during one orbit (360° × period ÷ the 1,436.07-minute sidereal day, about 23.3° at 92.9 minutes) plus the precession of the orbital plane. Earth's equatorial bulge swings the ISS orbit about 5° west per day, which adds roughly 0.3° per orbit for a total near 23.6°. Longitudes are wrapped to −180° to 180° and labeled E or W. The 92.9 minutes and roughly 15.5 orbits a day are NASA figures, and the precession rate is an approximation (as of October 2026).
This page cannot give you visible pass times
A pass you can see overhead needs your latitude and longitude, the north-south swing of the track from the 51.6° inclination, an orbit that drag keeps changing, and a dark sky while the station is still in sunlight. Actual pass times have to come from current orbital elements, so check NASA "Spot the Station" or Heavens-Above. The times in this table are equator crossings, not viewing times, and with the period and shift held fixed the error grows with every orbit.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. During one orbit Earth rotates about 23° and the orbital plane drifts a little west, so the next orbit crosses about 23.6° farther west. Getting back over the same region takes roughly a day, and even then the track is offset.
Not with this page. That needs your coordinates, current orbital elements and the lighting conditions after sunset, so use NASA "Spot the Station" or Heavens-Above for accurate pass times.
On the ground track map of a satellite tracking site such as Heavens-Above, read the UTC time and longitude where the ISS crosses the equator heading north. The default values are only an example to show how the calculation works.