Rescue mission launches to save NASA telescope that’s falling back to Earth
NASA’s $30 million mission aims to raise Swift’s orbit before the telescope falls back to Earth.
- On Friday, a three-armed spacecraft launched from the Marshall Islands to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which faces imminent atmospheric reentry. Northrop Grumman's Pegasus rocket carried the Katalyst Space Technologies LINK satellite into orbit.
- Atmospheric drag and solar activity have pulled Swift down to 210 miles and falling, threatening to destroy NASA's $250 million asset by year-end. The agency initiated the rescue to extend the telescope's scientific observations.
- The L-1011 Stargazer aircraft released the Pegasus rocket and LINK satellite from 40,000 feet above the Kwajalein Atoll. Katalyst's $30 million mission costs significantly less than the $74 million price of a Falcon 9 launch.
- After testing navigation and sensors, LINK will spend two to three weeks surveying Swift to identify grappling points. If successful, the telescope will resume full scientific observations by fall.
- Katalyst Space CEO Ghonhee Lee said the mission creates "a blueprint for servicing spacecraft that were never designed for on-orbit maintenance." The success demonstrates technology for rescuing future observatories like the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
212 Articles
212 Articles
NASA Launches Rescue Mission For Aging Space Telescope
Can you rescue a falling satellite in space? NASA is about to find out. In a mission that sounds straight out of science fiction, a robotic spacecraft has been launched. It will catch the aging Swift Observatory before it slips back toward Earth.Swift has spent more than two decades studying powerful cosmic explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. But increased solar activity has expanded Earth’s atmosphere, creating drag that has steadily pulled t…
NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
Engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies testing Link. | Image: NASA/Scott Wiessinger The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon as this year. To try and stave off its demise, NASA has enlisted Katalyst Space Technologies. The company's Link spacecraft launched Friday with the goal of intercepting Swift, which has no propulsion…
Pegasus XL Rocket Shot into Space to Save Swift Observatory From Falling Back to Earth * The Gateway Pundit * by Paul Serran
Boosting Swift. The post Pegasus XL Rocket Shot into Space to Save Swift Observatory From Falling Back to Earth appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
NASA has launched a robotic mission to try to prevent one of its aging telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere, a complex operation expected to take months. This unprecedented $30 million initiative involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope, which is currently falling toward Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second chance at life. The robot was initially scheduled to launch…
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