NASA telescope doomed after Flagstaff company’s rescue attempt fails

Key Points:

• NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have called off the mission to save the Swift Observatory due to problems controlling the rescue spacecraft, Link, which went into an uncontrollable spin after launch.
• The Swift telescope, launched in 2004, will reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up later this year, ending over 20 years of cosmic observations including gamma ray bursts and exploding stars.
• NASA invested $30 million in the mission to boost Swift to a higher orbit, but intense solar activity caused the telescope to lose altitude faster than expected, complicating the rescue efforts.
• Despite the mission's failure, Katalyst will continue operating Link near Swift to demonstrate capabilities for future satellite rescue operations, with lessons learned from this high-risk, rapid timeline project.
• The fate of the aging Hubble Space Telescope, which also requires an orbital boost due to solar activity, remains uncertain as it was next in line for a potential rescue mission.