Astronaut Don Pettit has shared a timelapse video showing the International Space Station performing an Optimal Propellant Maneuver while passing above illuminated cities around the Mediterranean. The footage captures the station’s controlled movement against a striking background of city lights visible across the region at night.

Pettit posted the video on X and explained that the ISS was carrying out an Optimal Propellant Maneuver, commonly referred to as an OPM. The procedure is used to reorient the station’s attitude, or its position relative to Earth, while managing the amount of propellant required for the adjustment.

According to Pettit, the maneuver was conducted in preparation for upcoming docking activities. Reorienting the ISS helps place the orbital laboratory in the required position for visiting spacecraft. Such adjustments form part of the station’s routine operations and must be carefully planned to support docking and other mission requirements.

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The accelerated timelapse makes the movement of the station easier to observe while presenting a sweeping view of Earth below. Clusters of lights from cities around the Mediterranean appear across the landscape, creating a vivid contrast with the darkness of space as the ISS continues along its orbital path.

Pettit described the view as featuring “some magnificent Mediterranean city lights.” The combination of the technical maneuver and the nighttime scenery attracted considerable attention online, giving viewers a glimpse of both the operational work performed aboard the ISS and the distinctive perspective astronauts have from orbit.

Social media users responded enthusiastically to the footage, with several praising the illuminated landscape and unusual view of the maneuver. One viewer described the lights as “very pretty,” while another remarked on the visible specks in the sky. A third jokingly said the ISS had given the Mediterranean a “spin-cycle.”

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