NASA launched a robot to try and move a valuable space observatory further from Earth

The Swift Laboratory was launched 22 years ago and has worked much longer than planned

The American space agency is sending a robotic arm spacecraft into space to save valuable telescopes from falling back to Earth. Such operations have not been conducted before, and the chances of success are not one hundred percent. However, scientists, to whom the observatory transmits important images, believe that the attempt is worthwhile, writes the BBC.

The mission concerns the Swift space observatory, which observes the most powerful stellar explosions in the Universe. Its orbit has dropped to dangerous levels, and if no intervention occurs, it could fall back to Earth.

Therefore, a commercial company under the leadership of NASA launched a spacecraft called LINK on Friday. The plan is simple: the spacecraft captures the telescope with three robotic "arms" and pushes Swift further away from Earth and its atmosphere, restoring its orbital parameters. But in reality, everything is much more complicated than in the description.

Scientist Simeon Barber, who is involved in planetary research at the British Open University, emphasizes that there have been no analogues to this mission, and the risk is high. "But NASA clearly thinks it's worth a try," he said. "And the scientific community is very hopeful because this is an important telescope that allows us to study ultra-high energy events. We have no other ways to research them."

The Swift observatory began to descend because increased solar activity led to the expansion of Earth's upper atmosphere. In the 20 years since its launch, its orbital altitude has decreased from 600 to 360 kilometers. The main loss of altitude occurred in the last couple of years.

Павялічыць

In 2022, the observatory recorded a gamma-ray burst from a star that died two billion light-years from Earth

Satellite re-entry to Earth is a common occurrence, but Swift is particularly valuable to scientists, so its loss would be very painful. Moreover, it has operated much longer than the planned two years — already 22 years.

The observatory, about the size of a large passenger car, is equipped with three telescopes and was launched in 2004. Its task is to study powerful cosmic explosions that occur during the death of massive stars or the collision of neutron stars.

These events are so monumental that in a matter of seconds, energy comparable to our Sun's radiation over 10 billion years is released. It is precisely because these cataclysms are so short-lived that the space laboratory was named Swift. In general, scientists have nothing similar to these telescopes, and NASA decided that such equipment was worth an unusual expedition.

The robot was made by the recently founded Arizona-based company Katalyst Space Technologies. Katalyst engineers had less than a year to intercept Swift at an altitude of 300 kilometers above Earth (below this, the apparatus can no longer be saved), says its head Gony Lee.

"What the Katalyst team was able to achieve in just eight months is impressive. We designed, built, tested, and equipped a robotic spacecraft that will undertake one of the boldest commercial servicing missions," Lee wrote in a press release in early July.

Engineers created a three-armed robot roughly the size of a refrigerator, filled with cameras and orientation systems. It was launched into space by a Pegasus XL rocket, and LINK will then move using small maneuvering thrusters. Over several weeks, it will sequentially activate its systems — engines, navigation, cameras, and sensors — to check how its mechanics and electronics survived the launch.

Павялічыць

Katalyst Space Technologies created the rescue robot in record time

Meanwhile, the observatory continues to descend. The rescue spacecraft, moving autonomously, tracks the moving target. After about three or four weeks, it will finally approach it. First, LINK will fly around the telescope, filming it from all sides. Engineers have a general understanding of where to "grab" Swift, but its contours may have changed over 20 years in orbit.

"Swift was not designed to be captured in space and have its orbit adjusted," says Barber. "Therefore, the rescue spacecraft will approach very slowly, and the fixation will also be unhurried."

At a certain point, a decisive action will have to be taken, and three robotic grippers will be extended to the observatory. If all goes successfully, LINK, holding Swift, will begin to push it away from Earth. "The telescope's orbit will gradually be raised to a level where it can remain stable for a long time," explains Barber. "This will be a very slow and smooth ascent." It is expected that this pair will cover the necessary 240 kilometers in two to three months.

And if all goes well, scientists will begin to think about the possibility of another rescue expedition — this time to the much more famous Hubble telescope.

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