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A Space Telescope Is Falling to Earth. NASA Plans a Mission to Rescue It
A commercial robot will attempt the first capture of a government satellite never designed for servicing, using robotic arms to extend Swift’s life.
- NASA is preparing a first-of-its-kind mission to rescue the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is losing altitude and could reenter Earth's atmosphere due to increased atmospheric drag from solar activity.
- A spacecraft called Link, developed by Katalyst Space Technologies, will attempt to rendezvous and dock with the telescope—even though Swift was never designed for docking—and raise it into a higher orbit.
- Arizona-Based startup Katalyst Space Technologies built the 935-pound rescue craft in just 250 days, equipping it with reaction-control thrusters, robotic arms and rendezvous sensors to safely boost the observatory without damage.
- If successful, the mission could extend Swift's operational life by at least five years and demonstrate new capabilities for servicing satellites and telescopes already in orbit.
- The project was developed on a rapid timeline and relatively modest budget, making it a major test of commercial space-servicing technology and a potential model for future rescue missions.
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This Week, NASA Will Launch a First-of-Its-Kind Mission to Save a Space Telescope That Has Observed the Sky for Nearly 22 Years
In 2024, researchers realized that the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was falling from its orbit faster than expected. Now, a robotic spacecraft called LINK aims to give the satellite a boost
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources20
Leaning Left5Leaning Right2Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Center
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources are Center
56% Center
L 31%
C 56%
13%
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