NASA Launches Mission to Raise Swift Into a Safer Orbit

NASA has launched an unusual operation to save the Swift space observatory, which is at risk of falling out of orbit and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

For the first time, a robotic vehicle will attempt to capture a telescope in space and move it higher into a more stable orbit.

The mission will be carried out by the LINK spacecraft, built by Katalyst Space Technologies. Equipped with three robotic arms, cameras and onboard navigation systems, LINK aims to approach Swift, secure it and then gradually move it from an altitude of around 360 kilometers to nearly 600 kilometers, the level at which it originally operated.

According to scientists, this is a highly risky intervention because such a procedure has never been carried out before. Open University researcher Dr. Simeon Barber describes Swift as a unique observatory that allows astronomers to investigate gamma-ray bursts and other extremely high-energy phenomena that cannot be observed by other instruments.

Swift was launched into space in 2004 to analyze the most powerful explosions in the Universe, linked to the end of giant stars or the collision of very dense cosmic objects. Over the past two decades, it has made a major contribution to astronomy by identifying events that last only a few seconds but release as much energy as the Sun produces over its entire lifetime.

The gradual lowering of Swift’s orbit is linked to increased solar activity, which has expanded Earth’s atmosphere and increased drag on the telescope’s movement. For this reason, its orbit has fallen from 600 to around 360 kilometers, especially over the past two years. Experts warn that if it drops below 300 kilometers, it will no longer be possible to save it.

In the coming weeks, LINK will test all of its systems before approaching Swift. Once it arrives near the telescope, the robot will photograph it from several angles to determine the safest point for capture, since the observatory was not designed for such interventions.