[Tormod]

Santa will have company in the sky over most of the United States this holiday season. The International Space Station is visible in the early morning, flying by at five miles a second.

Information about how, when and where to see it is available on the Internet at:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/isssightings

All sightings available from U.S. cities during the holidays are pre-dawn sightings. The Station is not expected to be visible in the evenings.

The 200-ton plus Station, which is more than 170 feet long and 240 feet wide, will be visible from most continental U.S. cities, as well as Juneau, Alaska, on various days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. The Station's crew, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and Flight Engineer Salizhan Sharipov, will celebrate the holidays aboard the orbiting research complex this year.

Chiao and Sharipov will get a special delivery on Dec. 25 as a Russian cargo spacecraft docks with the Station. The cargo ship will bring 5,000 pounds of supplies, including food, water, fuel, spare equipment and Christmas presents from home.

For those areas with opportunities to view the Station on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mornings, the Progress cargo spacecraft also may be visible as it closes in on the Station. The Progress is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station about 7:05 p.m. EST.

The docking will be carried live on NASA TV. Holiday greetings from the Station crew, video of Mission Control's season's greetings and footage of Mission Control tracking Santa Claus also are airing daily on NASA TV.

Source: NASA press release