NASA launches mission to rescue the falling Swift observatory

NASA's Swift Boost mission launched on July 3 at 4:36 AM Eastern time from the Marshall Islands after several delays. The goal is to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is falling faster than anticipated. Ground teams have already established communication with LINK, a robotic spacecraft built by Arizona-based Katalyst Space, designed to dock with the observatory and tug it into a higher orbit.

The launch was unconventional. LINK was attached to a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was tucked under the belly of a plane called Stargazer. The plane took off from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands and released the rocket at an altitude of about 40,000 feet. After a few seconds of free fall, the rocket's engines ignited and delivered LINK to space.

NASA confirmed that making contact with LINK was the first objective, and it was achieved. LINK has powered on and will undergo health checks by Katalyst over the next several weeks to assess its propulsion, sensor, and navigation systems. After that, LINK will head to the Swift observatory for a survey, then capture it using its three robotic arms. Once docked, LINK will tug the observatory upward until it reaches an orbit of approximately 370 miles, extending its life by about a decade. This process is expected to take 10 to 12 weeks.

While all spacecraft eventually fall, recent solar activity has caused the observatory's orbit to decay much faster. Without LINK's intervention, the Swift telescope would be falling from orbit by the end of this year.

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has been studying gamma-ray bursts for over two decades. Brad Cenko, Swift's principal investigator, describes gamma-ray bursts as "short-lived flashes of high-energy light that release more energy in just a few seconds than the sun will in its entire lifetime." These bursts are thought to be created by exploding and colliding stars. Cenko noted that data from Swift confirmed that "the heaviest elements in the periodic table, including the gold and platinum in our jewelry, are forged in these systems." Scientists also use Swift as a "dispatcher" or "first responder" to gather critical information when a sudden cosmic event occurs.