NASA launches emergency mission to save Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
NASA has dispatched Katalyst Space Technologies' Link spacecraft on an urgent mission to boost the Swift Observatory's orbit and prevent its fiery demise in the atmosphere.
The Swift Observatory, launched in 2004, has recently had its orbit lowered by solar storms and risks burning up in Earth's atmosphere as early as this year. To avert this, NASA enlisted Katalyst Space Technologies. The company's Link spacecraft launched on Friday with the goal of intercepting Swift, which has no propulsion system, and raising its orbit by about 150 miles (240 km) from its current altitude of 224 miles (360 km).
The mission is remarkable for its speed: it was put together in just nine months at a cost of $30 million. In contrast, Swift itself cost $500 million. NASA required the rapid timeline because Swift would be too low to save by October.
The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory primarily studies gamma-ray bursts, which have been crucial for understanding the early universe. If successful, the mission could extend the observatory's operational life for several more years.
