I used to go to my roof to see the ISS, but it is not always visible. Then it appears again but does it appear with the exact same orbit as I saw before? Thanks!
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1$\begingroup$ We go out of the plane for twelve hours, as the Earth rotates inside the orbit. $\endgroup$– SE - stop firing the good guysApr 27, 2016 at 7:24
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$\begingroup$ Are you asking how long it takes the ISS to complete an orbit? Or are you asking how long it takes the ISS to be in the same place again? $\endgroup$– TanenthorApr 27, 2016 at 11:43
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1$\begingroup$ This question belongs at Space Exploration, but is already answered there: space.stackexchange.com/questions/6505/… $\endgroup$– called2voyage ♦Apr 27, 2016 at 16:41
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1 Answer
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Objects in orbit pass over the surface above what's commonly called their ground track. For objects in low earth orbit, though they go around the earth every 1.5 or more hours, the Earth rotates beneath them so they don't trace a simple "circle" over the same points on land.
The orbit is around the Earth in a fixed plane, so we are likely (but not guaranteed) to see the satellite pass over 12 or 24 hours later.
