ISTANBUL

US billionaire Elon Musk's space technology company SpaceX successfully tested a new capability Wednesday allowing its Dragon spacecraft to help maintain the International Space Station's orbital altitude.

The US space agency NASA confirmed that Dragon completed an initial orbital adjustment using two Draco engines located in the spacecraft's trunk section during a burn lasting five minutes and three seconds.

The test maneuver raised the station's altitude by one mile (1.6 kilometers) at its lowest orbital point, positioning the facility in an orbit of 260.9 x 256.3 miles above Earth.

The spacecraft utilizes an independent propellant system separate from the station's existing boosting mechanisms. This new boost capability will support the International Space Station through a series of longer burns planned throughout the fall of 2025.

The Dragon vehicle arrived at the orbital complex on Aug. 25 as part of the 33rd commercial resupply mission and will remain docked until late December or early January before returning to Earth with research materials and cargo.

The space station requires periodic altitude adjustments due to atmospheric drag that gradually lowers its orbit. Without regular reboosts, the facility would naturally reenter Earth's atmosphere within one to two years, depending on solar activity levels, NASA says.

The International Space Station, an orbiting laboratory that has been operational since 1998 with a continuous human presence for over 23 years, is scheduled to end operations around 2030-2031 with a controlled deorbit planned.