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NASA, SpaceX Complete Dragon Space Station Reboost

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft with its nosecone open and carrying over 5,000 pounds of science, supplies, and hardware for NASA's SpaceX CRS-33 mission approaches the International Space Station for an automated docking to the Harmony module's forward port. Both spacecraft were flying 262 miles above the Atlantic Ocean east of the Canadian province of Newfoundland at the time of this photograph.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft carrying over 5,000 pounds of science, supplies, and hardware for NASA’s SpaceX CRS-33 mission approaches the International Space Station for an automated docking on Aug. 25, 2025.
NASA

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, SpaceX’s Dragon completed an initial burn to test the spacecraft’s new capability to help maintain the altitude of the International Space Station. Two Draco engines located in the trunk of Dragon, which contains an independent propellant system, were used to adjust the space station’s orbit through a maneuver lasting five minutes, three seconds. The initial test burn increased the station’s altitude by around one mile at perigee, or low point of station’s orbit, leaving the station in an orbit of 260.9 x 256.3 miles. 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.

This Dragon spacecraft, which is supporting NASA’s SpaceX 33rd commercial resupply mission, arrived at the orbital complex on Aug. 25. Dragon is scheduled to remain at the space station until late December or early January before returning to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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