NASA calls off mission to save Swift telescope, which will plunge into Earth's atmosphere and burn
NASA is calling off a mission to save the Swift telescope, which is set to plunge into Earth's atmosphere and burn up later this year. CBS News' space consultant Bill Harwood chimes in.
NASA has decided to abandon its plan to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory using a private spacecraft. The private probe, LINK, designed and built by Katalyst Space, failed to perform its task of raising the Swift Observatory to a more stable orbit. LINK, launched on July 3 from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, began spinning uncontrollably three weeks after launch, which led to its cancellation.
Despite the failure, NASA still plans to use LINK for other purposes. The $30 million mission, initiated due to the faster-than-anticipated decay of Swift's orbit, aimed to demonstrate proximity operations and show the potential of satellite servicing. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted that while the desired outcome wasn't achieved, the mission was still worth attempting as it provided valuable experience for future satellite servicing.
With the private spacecraft unable to save Swift, the observatory is now expected to rapidly descend into Earth's atmosphere by the end of the year.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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