NASA's lengthy mission to save Swift telescope from crashing to Earth

NASA is engaged in an extended and challenging mission to rescue the Swift space telescope, a vital instrument launched two decades ago to detect powerful cosmic explosions. The primary objective is to prevent the telescope's uncontrolled descent into Earth's atmosphere, which is projected to occur by the end of the year.

The mission relies on the robotic spacecraft LINK, developed by Katalyst. Launched on July 3 from the Marshall Islands aboard a Pegasus XL rocket, LINK is currently en route to rendezvous with Swift. NASA has not yet set a firm date for the encounter, acknowledging that the process could take several weeks.

LINK's task involves using its three robotic arms to capture the Swift telescope and then initiate a gradual elevation of its orbit. This complex maneuver is expected to span several months. Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA's interim director of Astrophysics, stated that the agency is racing against time but is leveraging existing commercial technologies to meet the challenge.

He added that boosting Swift's orbit is more economical than replacing its capabilities with a new mission. The capture process itself presents a significant hurdle, as Swift was not designed to be grasped. LINK will approach slowly, taking photos to identify suitable grip points on the telescope, which lacks handles or anchor points. NASA anticipates this careful capture phase could last about a month.

Once secured, LINK will begin nudging Swift into a higher orbit over several months. Afterward, it will release the telescope, and NASA will attempt to reactivate its instruments. This reactivation phase is estimated to take another month or more before Swift can resume full operations. If successful, this mission will mark the first time a private company's robot captures a U.S. government satellite that was not designed for in-space servicing.