NASA launches rescue mission to save Swift space telescope

NASA announced a short‑notice rescue operation to prevent the Swift observatory, a satellite launched in 2004 that studies gamma‑ray bursts, from re‑entering Earth’s atmosphere. Decades of orbital decay, accelerated by recent solar storms, have lowered Swift’s altitude to around 400 km, threatening a loss of its unique astrophysics capabilities.

The agency contracted U.S. firm Katalyst Space to build the 400‑kg “Link” spacecraft, equipped with three robotic arms, within nine months for a budget of roughly $30 million. Link will be launched on a Pegasus XL rocket released from a carrier aircraft over the Marshall Islands and will rendezvous with Swift, boost it to a higher orbit, and then burn up on return. If successful, Swift could resume data collection by autumn and operate for several more years. The mission is the first of its kind and is described as technically challenging and risky.