A spacecraft sent to save the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Swift telescope has started swinging out of control and might not be able to perform the mission. However, engineers are working tirelessly to get the LINK spacecraft, developed by Katalyst Space, under control and stabilise it.
LINK Spacecraft was launched from a mid-air Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket mounted on a modified Lockheed Martin L-1011 airliner with the mission to boost the orbit of NASA’s 22-year-old Swift Observatory before it falls back to Earth.
LINK, a fridge-sized robot with three arms ending in pincers, was designed to rendezvous with Swift, gently grab hold of it, and slowly boost the telescope from its current low orbit of around 224 miles (360 km) up to a safer 373 miles (600 km).
If the newly launched robotic vehicle fails in its mission, the observatory is expected to fall back to our planet in the autumn.
Swift, launched in 2004, has played a significant role in spotting cosmic fireworks like gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. But the intense solar activity in recent years has caused the $250 million observatory’s orbit to decay faster than expected.
NASA and Katalyst Space are working together to get things under control.
The American space agency’s Administrator Jared Isaacman said: “We are not giving up yet. This remains a very cool, very low-cost, high-potential, high-reward mission and another step toward a more autonomous future where missions like this routinely upgrade, repair, service and boost satellites.”
The latest update from Katalyst suggests that engineers have successfully reduced the LINK’s rotation and are currently assessing its functionality and control system.
