“In” high-beta “seasons, such as early May, the plane of our orbit is such that they are never obscured by the Earth, which means that the Sun [per chi si trova sulla ISS, ndr] it never sets. ”The Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti writes it, accompanying a video shot by the International Space Station.
Near both solstices, the ISS spends a period of several days in permanent lighting. NASA calls this the “high beta angle season,” a time when the station enters a period of full illumination throughout its orbit. All of this is a direct result of the station’s orbit, tilted 51.6 degrees with respect to the Earth’s equator. The station was placed in this orbit for a very specific reason: to make it accessible to those who have to reach it from all over the world. Furthermore, in these particular conditions, the ISS is visible from over 99% of humanity, from 60 degrees north latitude to 60 degrees south.