NASA has canceled its recent mission to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from falling back to Earth, according to the space agency. Launched in November 2004, the 20-year-old space telescope captures critical data on gamma-ray bursts, helping scientists peer into the early history of the universe. Increased solar activity has caused atmospheric drag at higher low Earth orbit altitudes, projecting that the observatory would reenter the atmosphere and burn up by late 2026.
The Launch and Subsequent Attitude Control Issues
On July 3, an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket carried the LINK spacecraft into low Earth orbit from above the Marshall Islands, according to NASA and Space.com reports. Built in partnership with Arizona-based start-up Katalyst Space Technologies, the unmanned LINK spacecraft aimed to rendezvous with Swift and use gentle ion thrusters to slowly boost its orbit over several months, extending its lifespan by roughly a decade. The mission cost NASA just $30 million and took nine months from contract to launch, according to PCMag.
However, NASA announced the cancellation of the rescue mission due to an attitude control issue. According to the agency, LINK’s attitude control systems malfunctioned shortly after launch, causing the spacecraft to spin and resulting in sporadic communications. Instead of capturing and boosting Swift, the spacecraft will attempt to conduct rendezvous and proximity operations with the observatory.
Statements From NASA Leadership
“This is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated, as reported by PCMag. Isaacman added that the agency plans to learn everything possible from LINK’s rendezvous attempt and apply those operational lessons to future missions.
Before the control issue occurred, the mission represented a novel approach to orbital maintenance. Swift was not originally designed to be serviced and lacks onboard thrusters to raise its own trajectory. The $500 million observatory continues to yield scientific results, including capturing footage last month of a black hole tearing apart a star 750 million light-years away, and previously detecting GRB 090423, the most distant known confirmed object in the universe.
Did you know? The Pegasus XL rocket that launched the LINK satellite is a three-stage solid rocket dropped from an L-1011 Stargazer jet, a method that allows it to reach hard-to-reach orbital inclinations like Swift’s 20.6-degree orbit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was the Swift space telescope rescue mission canceled?
NASA canceled the mission because of an attitude control malfunction on the LINK spacecraft that caused it to spin and resulted in sporadic communications, according to the agency.
What was the goal of the LINK spacecraft?
Built by Katalyst Space Technologies, the LINK spacecraft was designed to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, use robotic arms to grab it, and fire ion thrusters to raise its orbit, extending its operational life by about a decade.
How much did the Swift rescue mission cost?
The mission cost NASA $30 million and was developed in just nine months from contract to launch.
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