NASA’s Swift Rescue Plan Spirals Into Trouble
TL;DR Summary
NASA’s high‑risk plan to save the aging Swift gamma‑ray observatory with a space tug called LINK has hit a snag: LINK began tumbling after launch due to two failed reaction wheels and partial thruster loss, leaving ground teams scrambling to regain attitude control and maintain communications. If unresolved, Swift’s orbit could decay and it may burn up in coming months, despite the $30 million mission being pursued as a bold but valuable test.
- NASA Rescue Mission Spirals Into Crisis Futurism
- Reaction wheel failures leave Swift rescue mission spinning in orbit Ars Technica
- Commissioning Update for Spacecraft to Boost NASA’s Swift NASA Science (.gov)
- Private mission to rescue NASA’s aging telescope runs into its own trouble AP News
- Rescue mission to save NASA’s Swift space telescope is imperiled in orbit Scientific American
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