A privately-funded rescue effort to save NASA’s aging Swift Observatory has concluded unsuccessfully, leaving the space telescope on course to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later this year. The LINK spacecraft, developed by aerospace company Katalyst Space, launched in early July with a mission to boost the deteriorating observatory to a safer orbital altitude. However, the rescue attempt itself encountered significant technical difficulties, prompting NASA to halt the original mission objectives on Wednesday.
The Swift Observatory has been gradually losing altitude since its 2004 launch due to atmospheric drag from scattered molecules in Earth’s outer atmosphere. Recent increases in solar activity have intensified this problem by causing the upper atmosphere to expand, accelerating the telescope’s orbital decay. The $30 million Swift Boost mission represented an ambitious attempt to reverse this decline within an extremely compressed timeframe, with engineers given less than a year to design and execute the complex operation.
The LINK spacecraft experienced control problems in late July when electrical issues affected its orientation systems, causing the vehicle to spin uncontrollably. Despite these setbacks, NASA and Katalyst have not completely abandoned the project. Officials indicated that the spacecraft will still attempt to approach Swift to demonstrate advanced capabilities for future satellite servicing operations, allowing teams to gather valuable data for upcoming missions.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledged the disappointment while emphasizing the mission’s value as a pioneering effort. Engineers will analyze the LINK encounter with Swift to extract lessons applicable to future commercial space operations.
Originally reported by Livescience →
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