NASA Hatches High-Stakes Rescue Plan to Save the Swift Space Telescope
TL;DR Summary
NASA is racing to rescue the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory by docking a private servicing spacecraft, Link, and boosting its orbit before atmospheric drag ends the mission; Link has completed environmental testing at Goddard Space Flight Center. The plan hinges on a quick Pegasus XL launch to reach Swift in a time-sensitive operation that could extend the telescope’s science life and demonstrate rapid, commercial satellite servicing.
- NASA’s $500 Million Swift Telescope Rescue Mission Clears A Major Test Before Launch The Daily Galaxy
- Rescue mission for NASA’s $500 million space telescope passes key testing milestone Spaceflight Now
- Katalyst Wraps Testing at NASA Goddard for Swift Boost Mission NASA Science (.gov)
- NASA's bid to save Swift from fiery death passes another hurdle The Register
- NASA And Katalyst Space Technologies Are Soon To Launch A Robotic Spacecraft, With Hopes That It Can Catch A Vital Observatory Before It Falls Back Into Our Atmosphere TwistedSifter
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