A Dragon just pushed the International Space Station a little farther away from Earth.
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully finished a test re-boost of the International Space Station (ISS) according to NASA. The freighter fired two of its Draco engines for 5 minutes and 3 seconds during the maneuver.
The ISS orbits roughly 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth on average but naturally falls back to our planet due to atmospheric drag. (There isn’t much atmosphere up that high, but the few stray molecules make a difference over time.) Visiting cargo spacecraft therefore take on the job of lifting the orbiting complex higher every few months.
This job has historically been done primarily by Russian Progress spacecraft, but Russia may withdraw from the ISS program as soon as 2028. (The ISS is expected to keep operating until late 2030 or early 2031.)
NASA has therefore been asking the current U.S. ISS resupply craft — SpaceX’s Dragon and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus vehicle to perform re-boost demonstrations in recent years. SpaceX’s first such test happened on Nov. 8, 2024.
Dragon’s efforts got the station to an orbit of 260.9 by 256.3 miles (419.9 by 412 km), according to NASA.
“The new boost kit in Dragon will help sustain the orbiting lab’s altitude through a series of longer burns planned periodically throughout the fall of 2025,” agency officials added in the statement.
NASA has said these tests will also be important for another SpaceX job down the road: deorbiting the ISS itself. SpaceX was tasked in July 2024 to bring the ISS down in a controlled fashion when it is time, using a monster Dragon to fulfill the duty.https://
https://www.sumeetsud.com/tag/international-space-station/https://www.sumeetsud.com/tag/space-station/