All articles tagged with #orbital rescue
The Link spacecraft, launched in July to rescue the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after failing to boost the telescope’s orbit. The 85-day mission ended in failure due to technical issues, leaving Swift to decay and re-enter in November. NASA and Katalyst view the attempt as a valuable test of commercial satellite servicing capabilities despite the outcome.
Flagstaff-based Katalyst Space Technologies canceled its Link rescue mission for NASA’s Swift Observatory after Link could not be controlled to capture or boost the telescope; Swift will reenter the atmosphere later this year, with NASA not expecting the demise before October. NASA paid about $30 million for the attempt, and Katalyst will continue to operate Link nearby to demonstrate proximity operations for future rescues. Had the mission succeeded, Hubble could have been next, but its status remains unclear.
A NASA-led effort to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from orbital decay hit setbacks after the privately built LINK spacecraft spun out of control following its July launch. LINK’s spin has been slowed and stabilized, but a grappling rendezvous with Swift and a two-to-three month orbit-boost plan face delays. While mission teams reassess and patch software, the rescue’s timing remains uncertain, though there is still hope the observatory can resume science operations if the boost succeeds.
NASA's mission to rescue the Swift Observatory is at risk after the LINK grabber, launched on a Pegasus XL, began spinning uncontrollably and has only sporadic communications. Ground teams are using electric propulsion to slow the spin and stabilize LINK so it can reattempt approaching Swift and boost its orbit, potentially by late August. A successful operation would mark the first commercial robotic capture of a government satellite and extend Swift's mission to study gamma-ray bursts for years.
A private mission by Katalyst Space to reposition NASA’s Swift gamma‑ray observatory has hit a snag: the LINK spacecraft is spinning after launch, threatening to delay the rescue unless engineers can stabilize it. With two of three attitude‑control wheels malfunctioning and rotation reduced to about four degrees per second from nine, teams aim for a late‑August rendezvous with Swift before the telescope drops back to Earth this autumn, a success that could extend Swift’s life by years and cost roughly $30 million.
NASA’s Swift gamma-ray burst observatory is being rescued by Katalyst Space Technologies with its Link satellite, launched on a Pegasus XL. Over the coming weeks, Link will conduct checks and then autonomously approach Swift to attempt a robotic capture and lift the observatory to a higher, safer orbit, marking a pioneering robotic servicing mission.
NASA is funding and launching the LINK spacecraft, a three‑armed robot, to intercept and retrieve the aging Swift space telescope as its orbit decays, with the aim of lifting it back to a stable altitude in an unprecedented, high-risk rescue that could keep Swift studying extreme cosmic events.
NASA is racing to save the aging Swift gamma-ray observatory from fiery reentry with a $30 million robotic rescue. Katalyst Space Technologies’ three-armed Link will launch aboard a Pegasus rocket from the Marshall Islands, rendezvous with Swift within about a month, and gradually raise its orbit from roughly 224 miles to 373 miles to avert the October “point of no return.” The mission—with Swift’s instruments powered down to slow descent—could preserve valuable data, demonstrate a new US space-repair capability, and pave the way for future rescues of other observatories such as Hubble.