APOD: 2026 October 16 – Chasing the International Space Station

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A factual summary is pending editorial review. The complete official release is reproduced below with issuer attribution and a direct link to the original publication.

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Source material from NASA. The wording below is the issuer’s statement.

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Chasing the International Space Station

Explanation: Blasting into the predawn sky on Tuesday, October 13, a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are headed for low Earth orbit in this stunning timelapse video captured from Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. Starting with a launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Falcon and Dragon are chasing the International Space Station on NASA's 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission. On cue, the space station itself enters the frame from the top. Almost 8 seconds into the 30 second timelapse. the bright streak of the ISS appears heading "down" toward the horizon. The first and second stages of the Falcon 9 are separating as the spectacular exhaust plume jellyfish grows, already catching the light of the rising Sun. The visible sequence of first stage boost back, re-entry, and landing burns begins around 20 seconds into the video. With the second stage following the ISS toward the distant horizon, the jellyfish plume continues to drift in the predawn sky, even after the successful first stage landing at planet Earth's Landing Zone 40.

Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space

Date

October 16, 2026

Video Credit:

Eric Holland

Authors & editors:

Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe

A service of:

ASD at NASA / GSFC,

NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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