SPACE: SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule heads for home after historic ISS-boosting mission.

The robotic Dragon departed on schedule today at 12:05 p.m. EST (1705 GMT), ending a roughly six-month orbital stay during which it demonstrated a novel ISS-boosting capability.
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“During its time docked to the station, Dragon performed six reboosts — five in 2025 and a final maneuver on Jan. 23 — before preparations for its departure began,” they added.

Such reboosts have historically been done by Russia’s Progress freighter. It’s unclear, however, if Russia will remain an ISS partner through the lifetime of the orbiting lab, which is expected to be deorbited in late 2030.

If Russia leaves the consortium early, other reboosting methods will be needed. Dragon just showed it can handle the job, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo craft has done so as well.

It’s a shame what’s become of Russia’s space program, but those wounds are self-inflicted.