Private mission to rescue NASA’s aging telescope runs into its own trouble
Two of LINK’s three reaction wheels have failed, and flight controllers are using thrusters to stop the spin before it can reach Swift.
- On Tuesday, Katalyst Space Technologies reported that its LINK spacecraft is spinning uncontrollably in orbit, disrupting communication and threatening the rescue mission for NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
- Launched in 2004, the 21-year-old Swift is descending faster than expected due to atmospheric drag caused by recent solar activity, necessitating the urgent orbit-raising mission.
- Preliminary investigations reveal two of LINK's three reaction wheels are non-operational, while the spacecraft also faces functionality loss within its cold gas thruster system.
- Flight controllers are firing electric propulsion thrusters to halt the rotation. "Mission remains active," Katalyst said, adding that "Link has a viable path to rendezvous with Swift."
- Without intervention, the telescope will crash to Earth this fall, jeopardizing observations of gamma ray bursts and exploded stars. NASA paid $30 million for the rescue effort.
63 Articles
63 Articles
'We are not giving up yet': Private mission to rescue NASA's Swift telescope is spinning out of control, and engineers are racing to fix it
A private mission to rescue an ailing NASA space telescope may now need a rescue of its own. The LINK spacecraft — designed by private company Katalyst Space to boost the orbit of NASA’s ageing Swift Observatory — is reportedly spinning unexpectedly in the weeks after its launch, so much so that stabilizing the spacecraft will likely delay the telescope rescue. Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft launched July 3 from a mid-air Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL…
A rescue vessel launched by NASA to save a famous space telescope from destruction now needs rescue itself, various American media report.
The spacecraft recently launched by the American space agency NASA to save an important space telescope is now experiencing technical problems itself. The rescue operation is intended to prevent the telescope from crashing to Earth sooner than expected. However, whether that will succeed now seems doubtful.
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