Skip to content
Advertisement
When Appliance Fail?

NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth

The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon as this year. To try and stave off its demise, NASA has enlisted Katalyst Space...

schedule 19:06 visibility 63 views
NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
Source: The Verge
Engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies in Flagstaff, Ariz., stabilize their LINK robotic servicing spacecraft as it moves into a vibration chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on April 15, 2026. The vibration chamber simulated the intense shaking LINK will experience during launch.
Engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies testing Link. | Image: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon as this year. To try and stave off its demise, NASA has enlisted Katalyst Space Technologies. The company's Link spacecraft launched Friday with the goal of intercepting Swift, which has no propulsion system, and boosting its orbit back to its original position. Right now, Swift is circling at an altitude of 224 miles, and Link is aiming to raise that by about 150 miles.

Using a three-armed spacecraft to lift a satellite 150 miles higher into orbit is challenging enough, but the spee …

Read the full story at The Verge.

newspaper

Originally published at

The Verge

open_in_new Read Full Article

Related Articles

Read More

Brazil: Amazon deforestation at 40-year low
Environment

Brazil: Amazon deforestation at 40-year low

In Brazil, deforestation in the Amazon has reached its lowest level in 40 years. President Lula is bolstering his environmental record just over a week before the second round of the presidential election, in which he faces Flávio Bolsonaro.

France 24
France faces day of cost-of-living protests
Environment

France faces day of cost-of-living protests

French authorities detained dozens on Saturday at the start of nationwide protests against the cost of living, in what is likely to be a key indicator of the social climate heading toward elections to replace President Emmanuel Macron. France 24's...

France 24
Your Appliance Broke?
Reliable Repair for