International Space Station: Longest continual timelapse of Earth released for ISS 20th birthday

The longest timelapse video of earth ever recorded has been released to commemorate the International Space Station’s (ISS) 20th birthday.

Captured on 6 October by astronaut Alexander Gerst, the 15-minute clip shows the the station orbiting the globe.

The ISS travels at 4.791 miles per second, meaning it can orbit the earth once every 90 minutes, or 16 times a day.

Russian space agency Roscosmos launched the project on 20 November 1998 when it sent the Zarya module up into the stratosphere.

Nasa then followed this up with its own compound called Unity two weeks later.

The ISS became a symbol of peace between nations, particularly Russia and the US, as they worked together on a joint venture after decades of nuclear tension.

Since its launch, 16 nations in total have been involved with the station, which is the single most expensive object ever built at £93.4bn.

You can watch the full video here.