{"id":4833,"date":"2026-07-03T11:34:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4833"},"modified":"2026-07-03T11:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T11:34:23","slug":"a-3200-pound-space-observatory-may-soon-fall-from-orbit-a-risky-endeavor-just-launched-to-save-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=4833","title":{"rendered":"A 3,200-pound space observatory may soon fall from orbit. A risky endeavor just launched to save it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

\n A mission to rescue one of NASA\u2019s storied space observatories from falling to Earth has launched on a daring, first-of-its-kind endeavor.\n <\/p>

Read more What experts say about the effectiveness of electric muscle stimulation workouts<\/a><\/p>\n

\n If successful, it will mark the first time a commercial robotic mission has captured an uncrewed NASA spacecraft that wasn\u2019t designed to be serviced in space, according to the agency.\n <\/p>\n

\n Without intervention, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory would dip below a key orbital threshold this month due to atmospheric drag and the impact of recent solar activity. The observatory has studied an array of cosmic objects across multiple wavelengths of light for nearly 22 years.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n Related video\n <\/span>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\"seg2.jpg\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n
NASA<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\nNASA on a mission to save a falling space telescope<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n 2:28\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n The Swift operations team at Penn State University\u2019s Eberly College of Science has reduced power usage and steered the observatory to eye the cosmos from a more streamlined position. But once sinking below an optimal altitude of about 185 miles (300 kilometers) above Earth, Swift is likely to reenter our planet\u2019s atmosphere this fall, according to NASA\u2019s predictions.\n <\/p>\n

\n After realizing that the Swift mission might come to an end much sooner than anticipated, NASA put out a call for proposals for a solution.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to set the precedent that anything that comes out of orbit has to be boosted, but this was not just any spacecraft, this is an observatory with unique capabilities for astrophysics,\u201d said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director of astrophysics at NASA, during a June 17 news conference.\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n\n Related article\n <\/span>\n<\/header>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\"This<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\nThis image shows the gravitationally lensed galaxy nicknamed “Shadow Blaster,” which astronomers have identified as the likely source of the high-energy neutrino event IC 210922A, detected by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in 2021. Gravitational lensing occurs when a very massive foreground galaxy bends space-time, acting as a cosmic magnifying glass that enlarges and distorts the image of a more distant galaxy behind it. In this case, the red foreground galaxy is bending the light of the more distant Shadow Blaster galaxy, creating multiple distorted images of it that appear here as yellow arcs. This composite image was created using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the Gemini North telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab. See an image of Shadow Blaster without the foreground galaxy here.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
International Gemini Observatory\/NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA\/ALMA (ESO\/NAOJ\/NRAO)<\/figcaption>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

\nAstronomers trace a ghostly cosmic particle to distant \u2018Shadow Blaster\u2019 galaxy<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

5 min read<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n The agency selected Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies for the task in September, giving the company just nine months to design, build, test and launch a spacecraft capable of rendezvousing with Swift and boosting its orbit.\n <\/p>\n

\n The robotic satellite, named LINK, launched from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket that was released by the company\u2019s modified L-1011 aircraft known as Stargazer.\n <\/p>\n

\n Stargazer climbed to a strategic location of 40,000 feet (about 12,000 meters) above the Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, before dropping the rocket. At 4:36 a.m. ET Friday, the rocket\u2019s motors fired to life, delivering the satellite directly into Swift\u2019s orbit. The launch came after multiple weather delays, as well as a software issue that aborted a Thursday launch attempt and was fixed with an update.\n <\/p>\n

\n Now, scientists must wait months to see whether the seemingly impossible venture paid off, as LINK goes through a series of steps to capture the 3,200-pound (1,452-kilogram) observatory and slowly raise Swift\u2019s orbit to 370 miles (about 600 kilometers) above our planet.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNo one thought we would get as far as we\u2019ve already gotten today, and I have to be honest, there are still risks ahead of us,\u201d Domagal-Goldman said earlier. \u201cBut I\u2019m both deeply thankful and as optimistic as I can be that we\u2019ll meet those challenges because of the people that have worked on it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n
\n