Here is the ISS [International Space Station] web site ISS
And here is a typical trace map of the 90 minute orbit of Earth.
This image has elastic bands stretched around the "fattest part" of my Earth Globe to display 2 orbits, the first [on right] passing over East part of Australia and the left being TWO orbits later [as per map above] just West of Australia.
The orbits stay on the fattest part but "move" to the left by about 3,000 klm for each orbit [so about 6,000 klm as shown above] but in fact it is the 1/16 th rotation of the Earth in the 90 minutes [to the right] that causes the "displacement", and is the reason for the gap in the map above.
In the 90 minutes the Earth rotates 22.5 degrees and my gut feeling is that this is sort of related to the inclination of the Earth itself at the same 22.5 degrees. Anyone know?
To continue using "round figures" the ISS is traveling at 30,000 kph and is 400 klm above Earth.
This image shows the globe rotated 2 x 22.5 = 45 degrees. Note I am showing [for convenience of photography] the Earth inclined UP from camera position which is 22 Dec in Australia [Summer] whereas it is really 22 June, however I don't think the ISS minds, albeit the sun shadow in map above would be totally different, with the "wine goblet" turned upside down.
And this one shows the "intersection" point some 45 degrees further on. Note that the ISS orbit has an Inclination of 50 degrees so both these orbits "kiss" the 50 Degree South Latitude.
The exact same thing is shown for the top of the orbits over North-West of America
Here are views for both sides of Earth.
Finally we have a picture to show orbit distances.
If you look over the top of the Globe at the bamboo slats, then the ISS is only the height of one of the slats [about 1 cm] above the Earth and a Jumbo Jet would fly at about the top surface of the elastic band.
Comms satellites would be at about the blind on the far left for the simple reason that that distance of 30,000 klm from memory is the distance where the satellite does exactly ONE orbit a day, so relative to Earth it remains fixed so you don't need to reposition your satellite dish.
Then GPS satellites work on 2 orbits per day so are somewhere halfway between Globe and blind.
Hubble orbits at 550 klm and 20 degrees inclination.
