Business · Ars Technica
NASA calls off mission to rescue Swift gamma-ray observatory
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NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies announced Wednesday they are giving up on a robotic mission to rescue the Swift gamma-ray telescope before it falls out of orbit.
Key facts
- NASA awarded Katalyst a $30 million contract less than a year ago to build and launch the Link satellite
- The rescue satellite, named Link, launched July 3 on a journey to fly up to NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, capture it with three robotic arms, and boost its orbit high enough to escape
- The problem is Swift lacks thrusters to maintain its orbit, so a rescue effort like Katalyst’s Link mission was the only way to keep the $500 million observatory going
- While there is much to celebrate with Katalyst’s accomplishments, giving up on rescuing Swift will commit the nearly 22-year astrophysics mission to a fiery end
Summary
The rescue satellite, named Link, launched July 3 on a journey to fly up to NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, capture it with three robotic arms, and boost its orbit high enough to escape a looming reentry. Katalyst, the startup leading the Swift rescue effort, said Wednesday that “ongoing attitude control issues” will prevent the Link satellite from completing its rescue mission. “While the mission will not have the ending we originally intended, NASA and Katalyst are assessing what milestones remain ahead,” Katalyst said in a statement. The Swift rescue mission was always risky.