The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth for over 26 years, but it’s losing altitude due to friction with the atmosphere. To counter this, NASA and its partners perform reboost maneuvers using the space station’s own thrusters or external spacecraft like Russia’s Progress and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus.
For the first time, SpaceX will join the effort starting in September, using its Dragon vehicle to help maintain the ISS’s altitude. The company has integrated a boost kit into the trunk of the Dragon spacecraft, which will be used for a series of burns planned throughout the fall. This system fuels two Draco engines that ignite when they come into contact with propellant tanks filled with hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.
During a test demonstration in November 2024, SpaceX successfully adjusted the ISS’s orbit by about 7 miles at both apogee and perigee. The Dragon spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS until December, allowing it to perform the reboost maneuvers. This partnership marks an important step towards sustaining the ISS until its planned deorbit in 2030.
SpaceX plans to use a similar boost kit on future Dragon missions, including those that will help lower the space station’s altitude for deorbit. For now, the ISS is set to benefit from Dragon’s boost capabilities, ensuring it remains stable and operational for several years to come.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/spacex-just-sent-the-iss-a-new-way-to-stay-in-orbit-2000648211