SpaceX helps the ISS from tumbling back to Earth with a quick 12 minute boost

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft has conducted its first-ever reboost of the International Space Station (ISS), the floating laboratory approximately 250 miles above the surface of Earth that's home to astronauts from around the world.

NASA has taken to its website to announce that it and SpaceX monitored the operations of the Dragon spacecraft during its boost, and according to the blog post, this is Dragon's "first demonstration of reboost capabilities for the International Space Station". The reboost was conducted at 12:50 p.m. EST on Friday and involved the Dragon spacecraft engaging its boosters for approximately 12 minutes and 30 seconds, which adjusted the orbit of the ISS by 7/100 of a mile at apogee and 7/10 of a mile at perigee.

The demonstration proved SpaceX's Dragon capsule could be used as a means of adjusting the ISS when necessary, which is something the ISS requires regularly as the floating laboratory is constantly losing altitude. Up until now, vehicles from the European Space Agency and Northrop Grumman were used to maintain the ISS's orbit. However, NASA wants more options for obvious reasons such as emergencies, forward planning, etc.

NASA anticipates the lifespan of the ISS will reach its end in 2030, and after that, the entire station will be decommissioned and retired. That is NASA's current plan, but projections in space when it comes to timelines are usually plagued with delays, and according to ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who spoke to The Register, it's likely NASA will extend the ISS's lifespan by a few more years beyond 2030.