Satellite Captures Amazing View of International Space Station

A satellite has captured a sublime image of the International Space Station (ISS) as the two objects sailed past one another in the sky.

The incredible photo was shared by HEO, a company that specializes in taking photos of other objects in space rather than Earth itself.

However, Earth is visible in a recent photo of the ISS shared on X (formerly Twitter) on November 9.

“Engineering at its finest,” HEO writes. “The International Space Station, imaged in orbit above the coast of French Guiana.”

French Guiana is an overseas department of France located on the northeast coast of South America. The ocean blue and wispy clouds appear to contain some motion blur, while the ISS remains remarkably sharp, especially when you consider that both the satellite and space station are traveling at roughly 17,500 miles per hour.

Space.com notes that the picture is a feat of coordination and technical skill. HEO doesn’t operate satellites itself; rather, it is a software technology company that uploads its product to existing satellites and controls them to take a photo of interesting space objects.

This particular photo of the ISS was taken by a BlackSky satellite, a company based in Virginia that has an agreement with HEO.

PetaPixel has previously written about HEO accomplishments, including in March when a HEO-controlled satellite took a photo of the ISS just as two NASA astronauts, Jessica Meir and Chris Williams, were conducting a spacewalk.

HEO has seemingly improved its photo-taking abilities: this image of the ISS taken back in 2024 is lacking in quality compared to 2026 efforts.

Of course, photographers on Earth also like to make the ISS a target of pictures: like AJ Smadi, who PetaPixel recently featured because of his magnificent image of not only the space station but Jupiter lined up in the same frame.