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NASA Aborts Rescue for Aging Swift Telescope as Reentry Looms

1 min read
Source: WIRED
NASA Aborts Rescue for Aging Swift Telescope as Reentry Looms
Photo: WIRED
TL;DR

NASA canceled its planned rescue of the aging Swift gamma-ray observatory after the LINK spacecraft suffered attitude-control failures; the mission would have used robotic arms to capture Swift and raise it to a safer orbit, but ongoing control-system problems forced cancellation. With Swift losing altitude due to atmospheric drag, reentry is expected before the end of 2026, while LINK will continue rendezvous demonstrations to inform future satellite-servicing efforts.

Topics:sciencespace#gamma-ray-bursts#link-spacecraft#orbital-reentry#satellite-servicing#space#swift-telescope
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  1. NASA Cancels Its Rescue Mission for the Aging Swift Telescope  WIRED
  2. NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission  NASA (.gov)
  3. NASA’s Attempt to Save the Swift Telescope Has Failed  The New York Times
  4. Why NASA's Mission to Rescue the Swift Observatory Ended in Failure  extremetech.com
  5. NASA-Funded Mission to Rescue a Falling Space Telescope Officially Ends in Failure  Smithsonian Magazine

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