Dragon isn't the first U.S.-built spacecraft to lend its fuel to the space station's orbit. NASA tested an ISS orbit reboost using a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo vehicle in 2022. The data from Dragon's reboost, however, will ultimately pave the way for a catastrophic "un-boosting" of the space station's orbit.

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule is about to play a new, important role in maintaining the International Space Station. For the first time, NASA has planned a “reboost” maneuver with a cargo Dragon capsule docked to the ISS.

SpaceX launched 20 Starlink internet satellites from California early Saturday morning (Nov. 9). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which had direct-to-cell capability — lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 1:14 a.m. EST (0514 GMT; 10:14 p.m. Nov. 8 local time).

SpaceX launched another batch of 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday at 3:19 p.m. EST.