NASA, Katalyst call off SWIFT rescue mission over issues with rescue craft in space
NASA and Katalyst Space have canceled a mission to rescue the aging Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after the rescue craft, LINK, suffered uncontrollable spinning issues. The failure means the $500 million observatory will likely burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this year.
Why it matters
The failure of this mission highlights the high risks associated with private-sector space maintenance and the potential loss of a significant scientific asset.
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - A mission to rescue NASA's aging Swift observatory in space was canceled on Wednesday after the spacecraft that was launched to tug the satellite to a higher orbit suffered irredeemable technical issues in space, the rescue craft's owner, Katalyst Space, said.
Katalyst's LINK craft was launched in early July to approach the observatory, also known as Swift, some 216 miles (347 km) in space, grapple onto it and then tug it to a higher orbit of roughly 373 miles (600 km), extending its life by years.
But the LINK craft began spinning uncontrollably soon after reaching space. Katalyst engineers spent weeks trying to regain control of the craft, uploading new positioning control software last week that slowed but did not stop its errant spinning.
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