NASA telescope doomed after Flagstaff company’s rescue attempt fails - AZ Family
A mission by Flagstaff-based Katalyst Space Technologies to rescue NASA's Swift Observatory has been abandoned due to spacecraft control issues. The telescope is now expected to reenter the atmosphere and burn up later this year.
Why it matters
The failure highlights the high risks and technical challenges associated with orbital maintenance and space debris mitigation missions.
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AP/AZFamily) — The mission by a Flagstaff company to save a sinking NASA telescope was called off Wednesday, dooming the observatory to a fiery reentry later this year.
NASA and Flagstaff-based Katalyst Space Technologies announced the news more than a month after the startup’s Link spacecraft rocketed away on a bid to rescue NASA’s Swift Observatory.
Katalyst said Link will not attempt to capture Swift and boost it to a higher orbit because of problems with controlling the spacecraft. NASA said this means the telescope will plunge through the atmosphere after more than 20 years of tracking some of the biggest explosions in the universe like gamma ray bursts and exploding stars. Its demise is not expected before October.
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