NASA space telescope; detects gamma-ray bursts and follows up with X-ray/UV. Launched 2004.
NASA and partners are pursuing a high‑risk salvage to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher, stable orbit. A Katalyst Space Technologies robot will capture Swift and lift it from 224 miles to about 373 miles, extending its life as solar activity threatens its destruction in October.
NASA has hired Katalyst Space Technologies to send Link, a three-armed drone, to grab the Swift Observatory and lift it to a higher orbit. The mission, launched from the Marshall Islands, aims to prevent Swift from burning up in Earth’s atmosphere and keep it scanning gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars.
Katalyst Space Technologies’ Link, built to rescue NASA’s Swift gamma-ray observatory, has begun tumbling in orbit. Engineers are working to slow its spin and maintain control as the mission to boost Swift’s orbit faces a race against time.