The International Space Station completes one orbit around the Earth in about:

The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the Earth about once every 92 minutes, completing roughly 15 to 16 orbits every day.

Orbit of the ISS:

• It flies in low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 400 km (usually between 370 and 460 km).
• It travels at about 28,000 km per hour, or about 7.7 km per second.
• Its orbit is inclined at about 51.6 degrees to the Equator, so it passes over most of the inhabited parts of the Earth.
• The crew sees about 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets every day.

Why the ISS orbits so quickly:

• Satellites closer to the Earth must move faster to stay in orbit.
• A satellite at about 400 km needs about 92 minutes for one orbit, while a geostationary satellite at about 35,786 km takes 24 hours.

About the ISS:

• It is a joint project of five space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan) and CSA (Canada).
• Its first module, Zarya, was launched in November 1998.
• It has been continuously occupied by astronauts since November 2000.
• It is the largest human-made structure in space, about the size of a football field.
• It can often be seen from the ground as a bright, fast-moving point of light.

Future of the ISS:

NASA plans to retire the ISS around 2030 and bring it down safely into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

Indian connection:

• In 2025, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Air Force became the first Indian to visit the ISS, as part of the Axiom-4 mission.
• India plans its own space station, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, with the first module targeted for 2028.

Why not the other options?

• ✗24 hours is the period of a geostationary satellite.
• ✗12 hours is roughly the period of GPS navigation satellites.
• ✗27 days is roughly the time the Moon takes to orbit the Earth.