The space station can normally only be seen within a few hours either side of sunrise or sunset, as the sun reflects off the space station, illuminating it against the darker sky.

The ISS travels at about 17,000 miles per hour, more than 200 miles above the Earths surface, and at times can be the second-brightest object in the night sky, after the Moon.

Unlike aircraft, it has no flashing lights.

First launched in 1998, the space station is roughly the size of a football field.

According to NASA, the structure in its current form now has more inhabitable room than a six-bedroom house. It has two bathrooms and a gym.

Its current crew comprises two American men, two men and one woman from Russia, and one Italian woman.

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Father Christmas (aka the ISS) spotted flying over Britain