The spectacular sights of both the €100 billion International Space Station (ISS) and the Space Shuttle Endeavour will be visible in the sky over Ireland next week.
The ISS will fly over Ireland every night in the next two weeks, from August 3 rdto August 19 thand everyone in Ireland is expected to be able to see it.
According to space-watching body Astronomy Ireland, the space shuttle will be visible "chasing the ISS across the sky" after next Tuesday night.
Endeavour is undertaking a 14-day mission, which will include three spacewalks to complete the space station's 80-metre solar panels as well as repairs to a gyroscope.
The extensions will make the space station the largest and brightest object ever to fly in the Earth's orbit, according to Astronomy Ireland.
Currently, the 200-tonne space station is 73 metres wide. Since its launch in 2000 travelled over two billion kilometres.
For a couple of minutes every night it outshines every star and planet in the night sky.
"It is an incredibly spectacular sight to the naked eye, outshining every star in the sky," said David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland.
"But when the Shuttle chases ISS across the sky it is an incredible sight with two 'stars' blazing across Irish skies - everyone should see this. It's history in the making and Ireland just happens to be in the right place at the right time" he said.
The ISS is the most expensive piece of space hardware ever. Building it involved the collaboration of nearly 20 countries, including Ireland.
Currently onboard are Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson.
Astronauts from 14 countries have worked on the space station and it played host to a wedding in 2003 between Yuri Malenchenko on the station and Ekaterina Dmitrieva who was on Earth.
There are five men and two women on board Endeavour.