Spacecraft returns to Earth after rescue mission for ageing Nasa telescope fails
Series of in-flight problems meant Link, a ‘commercial space robot’, could not salvage the Nasa observatory A spacecraft that was launched in July on a mission to rescue a decaying Nasa space observatory plunged back to Earth on Friday, concluding a failed mission that will be followed by the telescope’s own demise in several weeks’ time. Link, billed as “America’s first commercial space robot”,…
A spacecraft called Link, described as "America's first commercial space robot", was launched on July 3 from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific islands. Its mission was to rescue the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a Nasa satellite that has been studying gamma-ray bursts and other cosmic events for 22 years. However, due to a series of in-flight problems, Link was unable to salvage the observatory.
The spacecraft has now returned to Earth, concluding its failed mission. According to the Guardian Science, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will now demise in several weeks' time.
There is no further information on the cause of the in-flight problems or the specifics of the failed mission.
Brief written by urgent.news from Guardian Science, Scientific American, Phys.org, CityNews — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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