Hed here HOUSTON Its back to school time, but that doesnt mean youll have to do the math to see the satellites and other objects in the sky.
The friendly engineers and programmers at NASA paid attention in their math and science classes and have developed tracking programs for when you can see Atlantis in orbit, along with other craft such as the
International Space Station (ISS), Mir and the Hubble Space Telescope. 
This NASA image shows how the International Space Station appeared after Zvezda arrived in July 2000.
William H. Tracy, a flight dynamics officer in Johnson Space Centers (JSC) Mission Control said the ISS isnt quite as bright as Mir yet, but will be more visible as construction progresses.
"The station is brighter than before," he said. "I looked at it last week and it was different."
Though the completed station will likely not be as bright as Venus, it will be readily visible.
Letting the computer do the work
SkyWatch 1.3, programmed by Tracy and other JSC flight controllers, gives sighting times and generates a nifty star map. J-Track, developed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, lists more than 500 satellites and spacecraft and produces a map on your computer screen much like the one in JSCs Mission Control Center.
Be patient though these programs are processor intensive and can require some time to download if you are using a modem to connect to the internet. Youll need a Java-capable browser and a bit of time if youre not running one of the newer processors. Both programs offer a lot of features, so it may be worthwhile to read the instructions.
For immediate gratification or if youre averse to running yet another internet app on your computer, go to the NASA Headquarters sightings page for ISS and Mir.
For those, who want to do their own calculations or have their own tracking program, JSC offers up
data.Tracy recently upgraded SkyWatch and rolled out version 1.3. This new version makes some user-requested improvements such as finding sightings in the order they occur, correcting a year-end rollover problem and improving the user interface.
If you want to feel like a flight controller, Tracy says the program uses the same high-fidelity propagator used by the consoles in Mission Control.
Click on the sighting opportunities
to go to text-based sighting information and SkyWatch which computes times and azimuths for you. If you want to know how SkyWatch was developed, Tracy discusses it on a streaming video clip.Marshall Space Flight Center J-Track
J-Track is great fun to play with. Its a wonderful way to while away the time. One cool feature is that you can tell J-Track to send e-mail with sighting information for up to 10 satellites and the shuttle.
The best place to start is the J-Track FAQ, which explains the various functions and contains troubleshooting tips.
For a home-based Mission Control look, Internet Explorer 4.0 and higher users can add J-Track to their active desktop.
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