The outermost layers of Earth’s atmosphere, the thermosphere and exosphere, are relatively busy places. In these layers, tens of thousands of trackable objects, including satellites and various types of debris, orbit the planet. They are also where dozens of tons of meteoric material enter daily, occasionally producing bright fireballs as the pieces burn up.
Given all of this, there's a non-zero chance that an astronaut might spot something fiery in the distance when looking out from the dome-shaped cupola on the International Space Station. That's precisely what one crew member saw and photographed as the station passed over West Africa on April 27, 2026. The astronaut was looking for Progress 95, an incoming cargo craft. Instead, they spotted a bright object directly below, streaking through the upper atmosphere. "I saw its tail grow and then split apart into a shower of smaller pieces," they later wrote on social media. "It was quite a light show!"
The event was not caused by the cargo resupply ship. Progress 95 (also called Progress MS-34) docked safely on April 27 as planned. However, the astronaut may have witnessed the reentry and breakup of the rocket used to launch it, some other rocket body, a satellite, or other human-made space debris. It's also possible that the light show was caused by meteoric material burning up. Without knowing exactly where the handheld camera was pointed, it's hard to definitively determine the source, a scientist with NASA's Crew Earth Observations office noted.
Most large orbital debris comes from fragmented satellites and launch vehicles. The material is concentrated within 2,000 kilometers of the surface and typically orbits at speeds of roughly 25,000 kilometers (16,000 miles) per hour, according to NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office. Though some of it can maintain a stable orbit for long periods, debris below a certain height faces atmospheric drag that pulls it earthward.
At altitudes below roughly 600 kilometers, debris typically falls back to Earth within several years. Above 800 kilometers, it could take centuries. Above 1,000 kilometers, debris can continue circling Earth for a thousand years or more. When debris descends and encounters a thicker atmosphere, atmospheric drag and compression increase. This typically heats debris to extreme temperatures and increases mechanical stresses until it breaks up and vaporizes.
Astronaut photographs ISS074-E-540106 – ISS074-E-540252 were acquired on April 27, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 200 millimeters. They were provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The images were taken by a member of the Expedition 74 crew. The images have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. NASA Earth Observatory triptych by Lauren Dauphin. Story by Adam Voiland.
References & Resources
- American Meteor Society (2026) Fireball FAQs. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- Center for Near Earth Object Studies (2026) Fireballs. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- ISS in Real Time (2026, April 27) ISS in real time tracker. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- International Space Station, via Instagram (2026) On April 27th at about 10:40 PM GMT, I was in the @iss Cupola and saw something…. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- McDowell, J. (2026, May 12) Active Sats vs. Time. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2020, October 20) Picturing Earth: Astronaut photography in focus. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- NASA Johnson Space Center (2026) A piece of unidentified space debris is pictured from the International Space Station. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit (2026, April 27) ISS074-E-540106 - ISS074-E-540252. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (2026) Frequently asked questions. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- NASA Scientific Visualization Studio (2025, June 16) Tracking satellites and space debris in Earth Orbit (Feb 2024). Accessed May 15, 2026.
- Space.com (2026, May 3) 'It was quite a light show!' NASA astronaut spies dramatic fireball from the International Space Station (photos). Accessed May 15, 2026.
- Space-Track.org (2026) Space Scoreboard. Accessed May 15, 2026.
- United States Space Force (2024) 18th Space Defense Squadron. Accessed May 15, 2026.
