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.
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Nasa launched, on Friday (3), a robotic mission to try to prevent the disintegration of one of its already obsolete telescopes, a dangerous operation that should last several months. Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot launch was postponed due to bad weather and later technical problems. Finally, it took place at 8h36 GMT (5h36 from Brasilia), from an atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
The Swift telescope, launched into space in 2004, is in danger of falling to Earth. It is an exceptionally valuable research instrument, and that is why efforts are being made to save it.
Nasa’s Swift boost mission begins as LINK spacecraft sets out to save observatory
Nasa has launched a pioneering satellite servicing mission to boost the ageing Swift space telescope into a higher orbit, extending its life while marking the final flight of the Pegasus XL rocket.
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