Nasa turns to robotic spacecraft to save telescope from falling back to Earth

NASA is undertaking a $30 million salvage operation to save the aging Swift Observatory from falling back to Earth. The mission, set to begin as early as this week, involves a robotic spacecraft built by startup Katalyst Space Technologies. This three-armed spacecraft will launch from the Marshall Islands aboard a plane-launched Pegasus rocket and will chase after Swift. The objective is to boost the Swift Observatory into a higher orbit, allowing it to continue its scientific mission of observing cosmic explosions. The launch could occur as early as Tuesday.

NASA is undertaking a $30 million mission to save the Swift Observatory from falling back to Earth. The startup Katalyst Space Technologies has been hired to launch a robotic spacecraft, named Link, to boost Swift into a higher, more stable orbit. Intense solar activity has caused Swift, launched in 2004, to lose altitude rapidly, with a point of no return expected in October. Link, equipped with three arms, will rendezvous with Swift and raise its orbit over several months, aiming to have Swift operational again by September. This mission marks the first American attempt at such a robotic space rescue, with potential implications for future satellite servicing and the possibility of saving other aging observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope.