NASA mission to rescue the falling Swift observatory has launched

Sat, Jul 4 · 4:00 PM UTC 2 min read

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A robotic spacecraft called LINK will soon tug the telescope to a higher orbit.

Key facts

The plane took off from Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands and then released the Pegasus XL rocket in the air at an altitude of around 40,000
Delivering the observatory to a higher orbit is expected to take 10 to 12 weeks
LINK will then capture Swift, dock with it using its three robotic arms and then tug it upwards until they reach an orbit with an altitude of approximately 370 miles, which will extend its life
NASA says making contact with LINK was the mission's first objective, and it was successful

Summary

The NASA Swift Boost mission has launched from Marshall Islands on July 3 at 4:36AM Eastern time after a couple of delays, and the agency has started preparing it for its ultimate goal: To rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which is falling faster than anticipated. It wasn't your typical rocket launch. NASA says making contact with LINK was the mission's first objective, and it was successful in doing so. LINK will then capture Swift, dock with it using its three robotic arms and then tug it upwards until they reach an orbit with an altitude of approximately 370 miles, which will extend its life by a decade or so.