NASA Neil Gehrels has suspended all scientific activity at the Swift Observatory Last February, hoping to reduce drag and acquisition time before the space telescope’s orbital decay sent it crashing through Earth’s atmosphere to a fiery death. Over the following months, the US space agency “to strengthen again” mission will place the device into a higher, safer orbit.
This unusual operation – reportedly the first satellite service of its kind – plans Deploy a $30 million orbiter with three robotic arms called LINKIt was developed by Katalyst Space, a private aerospace firm, to “slowly increase Swift’s altitude over several months” like NASA. to put in a press release. But as of this morning, NASA’s Swift rescue mission had been delayed three times in less than a week due to inclement weather on Tuesday and Wednesday, and now a “resulting launch problem” on Thursday has temporarily grounded the Katalyst rescue robot.
“The date for the next launch attempt of this mission (…) will be determined after the teams review the data from today’s attempt,” said Alice Fisher, a NASA public relations specialist. he wrote in the update.
Repower, reuse, recycle
In Swift’s nearly 21 years in orbit, the spacecraft has already surpassed its original goal: recording gamma-ray bursts, the electromagnetic evidence that distant, dense stars give birth to newborn black holes. The telescope, which cost $250 million (or about $452 million in today’s dollars) to build in 2004, has since detected and mapped X-ray flares. galaxiestracking moment asteroid Buzzing past the ground and even documents the black hole’s leech material from a nearby staramong other lateral use cases.
“This is a high-risk, high-reward mission,” Sean Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA’s astrophysics division, said before the first launch attempt this week.
“We have a lot to gain by trying to make this push that is more cost-effective than trying to replace Swift’s capabilities and allows NASA to grow the nation’s satellite servicing industry for the benefit of all.”
The robotic spacecraft LINK will launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a longtime strategic ally of the United States in the South Pacific, aboard a modified Lockheed Martin L-1011 aircraft. From there, NASA plans to launch LINK into orbit on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which will carry it on a cross-track to the Swift Observatory.
A transition to the past
Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft reportedly weighs about 880 pounds (400 kilograms) and is about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. At best, it’s about one-third the size of Swift itself, but its robotic arms will be propelled by three solar-powered ion thrusters, maneuvering the NASA satellite to safety while maintaining its ability to peer into deep space and record cosmic waves. events from the earliest times of the known universe.
“Swift is NASA’s multi-tool for studying space,” says S. Bradley Cenko, principal investigator of NASA’s Swift study. “Over the past two decades, Swift has been a key player in NASA’s efforts to understand how the universe works, and we look forward to returning to that work once the push is complete.”
Katalyst has been able to bring the LINK craft together since last September, when NASA reached out to launch the design, construction and testing of a device capable of gently moving a sensitive science instrument into a new orbit.
“Swift is not designed for a service,” said Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee. “We are creating a plan to service spacecraft that are never intended for in-orbit maintenance by demonstrating that we can extend their service life quickly and cost-effectively.”
Lee called it more than a rescue mission, but the proof-of-concept should prove humanity itself as a spacefaring species: “If we’re going to build a permanent existence beyond Earth, we need the ability to manipulate our environment in space,” he said. “This means deploying robotic spacecraft that can reposition, repair, refuel and remount satellites after launch.”
