All articles tagged with #reaction wheels
NASA's LINK servicing spacecraft, sent to boost the Swift Observatory, is spinning out of control after two of its three reaction wheels failed and its cold-gas thrusters misbehaved, disrupting communications. Engineers are working to stabilize and rendezvous with Swift, but if the mission fails, the observatory's orbit could decay, wiping out months of scientific data.
NASA’s risky plan to rescue its aging Swift gamma-ray observatory with the LINK space tug is unraveling after LINK begins tumbling, with preliminary findings showing two of its three reaction wheels are inoperable and its cold‑gas thruster system degraded. Ground teams can still communicate with Swift, but engineers must halt LINK’s spin before reassessing next steps; the mission cost was about $30 million, and time is running out as Swift could re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in the coming months.
Satellites re-entering Earth's atmosphere pose a potential hazard due to heavy components like reaction wheels surviving the descent. The ESA is working on designing reaction wheels that will break up during re-entry to reduce the risk of striking Earth. Efforts also include the Design for Demise program to comply with Space Debris Mitigation requirements, as well as plans for active debris removal to clear congested Low Earth Orbit.