Space station shares bird’s-eye view of the south
The International Space Station flew over New Zealand on Saturday afternoon, capturing stunning views of the South Island.
The station took just over one minute to pass from the west to the east of the country in video footage posted to Twitter by ISS Above, a device that live-streams views of the Earth from space.
‘‘Kia ora Aotearoa New Zealand,’’ the post read.
‘‘Such an inspiring (and clear) view across Te Waipounamu/South Island captured live at 1.54pm today from the [International Space Station].’’ The snow-capped Southern Alps as well as Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau can be seen as the station passes over parts of the West Coast and South Canterbury.
The International Space Station can take as little as 30 seconds and as long as three minutes to pass over the country, the ISS Above Twitter account said in August.
The station moves at a rate of about 8km per second and orbits the Earth 16 times per day, according to Nasa.
Seven astronauts live and work on the space station, which has been continuously occupied since November 2000.