Who would like to know when the International Space Station is flying right over them? It appears lots of people would, according to the inventor of a new device that's crowdfunded though Kickstarter and is designed to signal every time the orbiting laboratory is making a fly-by.

Astronomy enthusiast and coder Liam Kennedy, the brains behind the "ISS-Above" tracker, told reporters many people throughout the United States and elsewhere don't realize the 420-ton station is cruising about 400 kilometers, or 250 miles, above the ground and every so often right above their heads.

Initially developed as an educational tool for his grandchildren, Kennedy said, the device created significant buzz at the San Diego Mini Maker's Faire and then drew added attention online with the Website Reddit and through social media.

So, after installing about 20 ISS-Above units at different locations throughout the world, Kennedy decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign with the Kickstarter platform in order to generate at least $5,000 for a limited production run. The project raised the target sum in just five days.

So far, with only 80 pledging their financial backing, the ISS-Above project has raised an estimated $7,000 -- with 24 days still to go in the initial funding drive.

The tracking device includes LED lighting that flashes every time the ISS is (relatively) nearby, along with a Web-based server that gives data displayed on a small LED screen about the current fly-over and future passes.

Kennedy said the unit, will also offer an optional way to send text greetings -- tweets, actually -- each time the ISS glides overhead, to @ISSAboveYou.

A possible Tweet might read something like:

"How's it hanging in the ISS today? from Home Station/Pasadena, CA - we are just 513 km away #ISS#issabove... https://t.co/wAkf8D4q8W"

Since the first manned mission to the ISS in November 2000, the station has completed more than 86,000 orbits around the planet, completing 15 of them each day.

The ISS is a joint project of the space agencies representing: the United States (National Aeronautics and Space Administration); Russia (Roskosmos); Japan (JAXA); Europe (ESA); and Canada (CSA).