NASA has launched many satellites into space. One such satellite is the Swift telescope. This telescope was originally designed to detect gamma ray bursts or GRB’s. Slowly over time, the telescope started to be used for other purposes. However, its use was not the only thing changing with the telescope over time as it is also began slowly deteriorating. Because of this, the telescope is slowly making its way closer to Earth’s surface. NASA wants to preserve this expensive satellite, so it partnered with another company to attempt to save the telescope.
This telescope has also surpassed many expectations. The telescope was first estimated to only last two years, but the telescope exceeded this expectation by about ten years. However, the space satellite is also slowly deteriorating. This made the satellite slowly sink back towards Earth’s surface. If the telescope drops below 186 miles above Earth’s surface, it will be pulled by a strong gravitational force then burn up in the atmosphere. Currently, the telescope is floating around 224 miles above the Earth’s surface which is too close to the point of destruction.
Despite this, NASA is hoping to save this very expensive telescope. NASA partnered with a company called Katalyst Space Technologies. Normally to have a rescue mission started, a rescue mission would take years of preparation, but the new rescue spacecraft was finished and launched in less than a year. The rescue craft is called Link, and it is about the size of a refrigerator. The are two robotic arms attached to Link to grab onto Swift and push it upwards to about 373 miles above Earth’s surface. However, this maneuver is tricky because such this type of rescue has never been done before.