Key facts
- A mission to rescue NASA's Swift Observatory has been launched.
- The Swift Observatory is in danger of crashing back to Earth due to solar storms.
- Katalyst Space Technologies' Link spacecraft will capture and boost the telescope's orbit.
- The rescue mission cost NASA $30 million.
- The Swift Observatory could resume operations by September if the mission is successful.
A mission to rescue NASA's Swift Observatory, which is at risk of crashing back to Earth due to increased atmospheric drag from solar storms, has successfully launched. The Link spacecraft, built by Katalyst Space Technologies, was deployed Friday from the Marshall Islands via a Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket launched from a modified airplane. The spacecraft is expected to reach and capture the 1.6-ton telescope in about a month. NASA is paying $30 million for the salvage operation, which aims to boost Swift's orbit by 150 miles, potentially allowing it to resume observations by September. The mission was expedited due to predictions that Swift would be too low to recover by the fall and would deorbit by October. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope may require a similar operation in the future. The mission faced several last-minute delays due to weather and technical issues.