NASA launches robot to save Swift telescope falling to Earth
NASA launched a robotic mission to extend the life of its Swift telescope by raising its orbit and preventing it from falling back to Earth. The telescope, which studies gamma-ray bursts, had been gradually losing altitude due to atmospheric drag.
Background
- The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (often called Swift) is a NASA space telescope launched in 2004. It studies gamma-ray bursts — the most violent explosions in the universe — and has far exceeded its planned 2-year mission, operating for over 20 years.
- Swift orbits Earth at roughly 530 km altitude, where it experiences drag from the thin upper atmosphere. That drag is now pulling it down faster than expected, and without intervention it could re-enter and burn up within a few years, ending a highly productive science mission.
- To save it, NASA is launching a small robotic spacecraft (about the size of a mini-fridge) that will rendezvous with Swift, dock with it, and fire thrusters to push it back up to a higher, stable orbit. This is the first time NASA has attempted such an in-orbit servicing rescue for a science satellite.
- The rescue robot is itself launched on another rocket. This type of mission — refueling or reboosting existing satellites rather than building replacements — is a growing area in aerospace, with implications for reducing space debris and extending the life of expensive orbital assets.