NASA to Launch Spacecraft to Attempt Raising Swift Observatory’s Orbit

NASA plans to launch a robotic spacecraft on Tuesday to raise the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, NBC News reported. The observatory has studied gamma-ray bursts for more than two decades. NASA’s prediction models indicate Swift’s orbit could drop below 185 miles altitude in October.

The agency awarded a $30 million contract last year to Katalyst Space Technologies to build the LINK spacecraft. Northrop Grumman is providing the Stargazer airplane and Pegasus XL rocket for the launch from the Marshall Islands no earlier than Tuesday at 6:23 a.m. At 40,000 feet the aircraft will deploy the rocket carrying the 6-foot, 880-pound LINK spacecraft.

LINK is intended to capture Swift and raise its altitude over several months. Swift was launched in 2004 with an original planned mission of two years and was not designed with onboard thrusters for orbit-raising. “ It is a swift observatory that can quickly pivot across the night sky to find things that go boom in the night,” Dr.

Shawn Domagal-Goldman stated on June 17. John Nousek stated that saving Swift will give NASA the capability to reuse, extend or add functions to existing spacecraft at a small fraction of the cost of a new mission. Intense solar activity in 2024 during the sun’s 11-year solar maximum cycle increased atmospheric drag on the observatory.

Swift has gathered data on more than 1,400 gamma-ray bursts and other high-energy events, including the most distant one recorded from an exploding star approximately 13 billion light-years away. Kieran Wilson stated that successfully meeting up with Swift in orbit and raising its altitude remain major undertakings.