During the weekend of June 25 and 26, 2022, Northrup Grumman's Cygnus cargo spacecraft successfully rebooted the International Space Station. 

In 2011, the space shuttles retired after providing orbital adjustments to the ISS through their Cygnus NG-17 'Piers Sellers' craft. 

In the past, the Progress cargo spacecraft was used for rebooting, attitude control, and debris avoidance maneuvers of the space station.

'Using the Cygnus system, the ISS can be rebooted to help maintain and support its operations,' explained Steve Krein, vice president for civil, commercial, and tactical space systems at Northrop Grumman. 

“About the future exploration of space from the ISS and beyond, it also illustrates the tremendous capabilities that Cygnus provides.”

Northrup Grumman says the test is part of an effort to develop 'this enhanced capability for a standard service for NASA,' and it took Cygnus 301 seconds to raise the station's perigee and apogee by about 0.8 kilometers and about 0.2 kilometers. 

It is the first time that NASA is offering this enhanced capability in a standard configuration on a Cygnus mission.'  

During its stay at the ISS, Cygnus docked in February, but on June 28 it departed. As part of the ninth Cygnus resupply mission, the Station's altitude was raised by 90 meters with a short 50-second burn of its main engine. 

Cygnus NG-17 had already aborted its first orbit-raising maneuver on June 20, as it had come within 5 seconds of bringing the station into orbit. 

A subsequent investigation by engineers showed that the observed parameters were within normal range. Northrop Grumman explained the abort as a precautionary measure.

The US can provide propulsion to the ISS has become an issue since early February 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Russian State Space Corporation Director Dmitry Rogozin warned that Russia may end its cooperation in space after sanctions were imposed on the country by the US and other member countries of the space station consortium. Rogozin also suggested the ISS could be used as a weapon if Russia terminated cooperation with Russia.

A CGI video illustrating the Russian modules detaching from the ISS was also shown by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. Rogozin and others volleyed back on social media for a few months, but tempers seemed to be calming down lately.

NASA reports that the Russian segments and Russian cargo spacecraft provide all of the propulsion for the International Space Station. 

While the Zvezda module can use its thrusters, these are usually reserved for when the Soyuz can't handle a job due to the limited propellant supply. A U.S. gyroscope is used for day-to-day attitude control and station orientation. 

NASA noted that Russian thrusters provide attitude control when the gyroscopes reach their control limits during dynamic events such as dockings.

Due to the departure of Cygnus, the space station is reliant on Russian sources for any required maneuvers. SpaceX's head has hinted Dragon capsules could maneuver the station, but they currently aren't able to do so.

As part of the series of improvements the spacecraft has undergone since its first mission to the station in 2013, Northrup Grumman said it has added reboots and thrusters to the spacecraft. 

With a bigger cargo module, the company can take on more cargo, install lighter solar panels and fuel tanks, and upgrade many systems to enable reboost.

Over 5,000 kg of supplies and equipment have so far been delivered to the crews aboard the ISS by Cygnus spacecraft. On June 29, Cygnus conducted a controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean, packed with garbage before it undocked.