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NASA\u2019s high-risk, high-reward attempt to save one of its space telescopes before it falls out of orbit has failed.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, NASA announced that a rescue spacecraft that was meant to grab onto the space agency\u2019s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and push it into a higher altitude will not proceed. With the rescue mission called off, Swift, which has observed distant, powerful explosions in the cosmos since 2004, is expected to burn up in the atmosphere later this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the outcome we were working toward, but it does not change why this mission was worth attempting,\u201d Jared Isaacman, the NASA administrator, said in a news release.<\/p>\n
In the short time before its demise, the Swift telescope will resume its observations of gamma-ray bursts \u2014 flashes of high-energy light from cataclysmic events like the explosions of giant stars. The scientific work was paused to slow the decay of Swift\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
NASA hired a small company, Katalyst Space Technologies, of Flagstaff, Ariz., for $30 million to put together a mission to save Swift on an extremely rushed schedule. In about nine months, Katalyst built the refrigerator-size rescue spacecraft named Link, which successfully launched on July 3.<\/p>\n
Link was moving closer to Swift but unexpectedly started tumbling on July 25. Katalyst was able to slow the spin of Link, and company officials were optimistic the spacecraft would be able to proceed with their schedule delayed by just a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n
In an interview just over a week ago, Ghonhee Lee, the chief executive of Katalyst, said NASA had given \u201cthe green light to go forward for proximity operations\u201d leading up to the capture of Swift.<\/p>\n
He said Link would match Swift\u2019s orbit in the coming days. \u201cThat\u2019s a really good place to be, compared to where we were at before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Link will no longer attempt to capture or boost the space telescope but will operate in the vicinity of Swift to demonstrate capabilities that could be used in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In the news release, NASA officials said they still believed the rescue mission was worth the try, even though it failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all hoping for more science from Swift,\u201d Shawn Domagal-Goldman, director of NASA\u2019s astrophysics division, said. \u201cBut we knew the takeaways from this mission would be worthwhile either way, and we have gained so much through the series of accomplishments up to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Swift first launched, it orbited about 370 miles above Earth. As Swift was originally designed to last just two years, its designers did not include contingency plans for boosting its altitude.<\/p>\n
A stronger than expected peak of solar activity in late 2024, during the sun\u2019s 11-year sunspot cycle, accelerated Swift\u2019s fall, and NASA suddenly faced the possibility that the telescope would re-enter the atmosphere this year. Space missions typically take years to plan and build.<\/p>\n
\u201cNASA should be willing to move quickly and take smart risks when the potential return is worth it,\u201d Mr. Isaacman said, \u201cand that is exactly what we did with this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n