NASA and the International Space Station shared the personnel of storm Ian when it flew over it at an altitude of 410 kilometres, during which time, on Wednesday afternoon, the hurricane hit Florida.
Thousands of viewers watched NASA broadcast the planned flight for almost 15 minutes, sharing the video in their social media records, showing how the camera slowly moved along the storm, recording a unique view of Hurricane Ian as it approached the state.
"The space station is flying over #HurricaneIan, providing direct observations of the storm when it hits the shore near Fort Meyers, Florida," wrote ISS representatives on social media.
ISS-Ian: Spectacular but outfighting reports of Hurricane Ian from the International Space Station to make a pass that began around 3pm EDT as the eye of the State 4 storm is making landfall night Fort Meyers, Florida pic.twitter.com/2zz9rMDQ5N
A CBS News space consultant, William Harwood, shared some incredible images from the ISS, calling them "impressive but frightening pictures".