The International Space Station (ISS) is now orbiting Earth at a record altitude of 262 miles (422 km). It was deliberately nudged to a higher position just recently by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.<\/p>\n
Such a maneuver is necessary to keep the station safely orbiting Earth, as atmospheric drag causes it to gradually lose altitude.<\/p>\n
The station can use any of the docked spacecraft to adjust the its orbit. The process is performed by firing thrusters on one of the spacecraft for a period of several minutes, gently pushing the orbital facility to a new altitude.<\/p>\n
Without the reboost procedure, which usually takes place around once a month, the station<\/a> would eventually head into Earth\u2019s atmosphere at high speed, burning up in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cReboosts like this help the station maintain its orbit, counteracting atmospheric drag and keeping the laboratory perfectly positioned for science, operations, and visiting spacecraft,\u201d NASA said in a post on X announcing the station\u2019s new position high above Earth.<\/p>\n The Space Station just leveled up\u2026 literally. \ud83d\udef0\ufe0f<\/p>\n Following Friday\u2019s reboost by SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft, the International @Space_Station<\/a> is now orbiting at a record altitude of 262 statute miles. <\/p>\n Reboosts like this help the station maintain its orbit, counteracting\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/jVfEejC9ww<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) January 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The ISS is usually orbiting our planet at around 250 miles (402 km) up, but it\u2019s now 12 miles beyond that. Although they\u2019re now at a higher altitude, the crew aboard the ISS won\u2019t notice any difference in the microgravity conditions, nor in their view of Earth.<\/p>\n Notably, around 2030, the ISS will be decommissioned<\/a> due to its aging condition. At that point, once cleared of crew and equipment, a spacecraft will attach to the ISS and use its propulsion to lower its orbit rather than elevate it, allowing atmospheric drag to pull it down for a controlled reentry.<\/p>\n While much of the satellite will burn up during its high-speed descent, some parts are expected to make it back to Earth and crash into the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n The station\u2019s demise won\u2019t mean the end of humans living and working in near-Earth orbit. Indeed, China already has taikonauts aboard its own space station, while a number of U.S. companies are working on next-generation stations<\/a> for international visitors.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t