Mission to save NASA’s falling space observatory fails
A mission to rescue NASA's aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory using a satellite called LINK has failed due to control issues. While the rescue attempt is aborted, the mission will continue as a demonstration to gather data for future satellite servicing.
Why it matters
The failure highlights the technical challenges of in-space satellite maintenance, a growing field for commercial space companies.
A satellite called LINK that recently launched to boost the orbit of a falling space observatory won’t be able to carry out its daring rescue mission after all. NASA’s decades-old Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is steadily losing altitude and in danger of reentering Earth’s atmosphere. Designed by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies to save the observatory, the LINK satellite began to encounter difficulty in late July. Just weeks after LINK lifted off on July 3, it started to spin out of control. Katalyst was able to regain control of the satellite, but the company acknowledged that the issue cost it time, which would delay LINK’s rendezvous with Swift by about a month. However, that postponement — at least initially — did not seem to be a deterrent to the mission.
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