NASA has recently started an experiment via its International Space Station which streams live video of Earth in 720p.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has started an experiment called High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) which shows the station’s view of our planet via an internet stream. The project has been developed and run by NASA together with some high school students. The students have helped with the design of some of the HDEV components through the High School United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program. The experiment includes both multiple 720p camera feeds and the ISS crew’s radio chatter.
The stream from HDEV is not stable and occasionally loses contact. The project includes testing the quality of Earth-facing cameras as well as their ability to survive high doses of radiation while in orbit. The project is supposed to run till October 2015 and NASA will use the results from the experiment to decide what cameras to use on future missions.
The HDEV experiment was aboard the ISS and was activated on April 30, 2014. It is mounted on the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module. It includes several commercial HD video cameras aimed at Earth which are enclosed in a pressurized and temperature controlled housing. Video from these cameras is transmitted back to Earth streamed live on the channel below. If you don’t see anything, it is most likely that space station is hovering over the dark side of the planet Earth.
Live streaming video by Ustream
If you wish to know the exact location of the Space Station and also watch the live stream at the same time. Click here.