Dragon executes first successful reboost for Space Station
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 09, 2024
NASA and SpaceX observed a significant milestone as SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft successfully demonstrated its ability to reboost the International Space Station's orbit on Friday at 12:50 p.m. EST. Using its Draco thrusters, the spacecraft adjusted the station's altitude, raising it by 7/100 of a mile at apogee and 7/10 of a mile at perigee over a 12-minute and 30-second operation.

This successful demonstration marks an important step in expanding reboost and, in the future, attitude control capabilities for the space station through multiple spacecraft. The NASA International Space Station Program anticipates having a broader set of tools to maintain the station's orbit, improving operational resilience.

Historically, reboost functions have been performed by Roscosmos's Progress spacecraft and Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft.

Earlier this month, the Dragon spacecraft also delivered over 6,000 pounds of essential supplies to the station. This resupply mission, which was the 31st of its kind by SpaceX, launched on Nov. 4 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A and docked with the station on Nov. 5.

For over 20 years, the International Space Station has been an essential platform for NASA's research into long-term space travel and the development of commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. The station serves as a foundational step toward building a sustainable low Earth orbit economy and advancing NASA's deep space exploration initiatives, including lunar missions under the Artemis program and future human expeditions to Mars.

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