NASA is preparing an ambitious mission to save one of its ageing space telescopes from falling back to Earth, in what could become the first American attempt to use a robotic spacecraft to rescue and reposition a satellite already in orbit.As early as this week, a USD 30 million mission will launch a robotic spacecraft designed to catch and lift NASA’s Swift Observatory into a higher orbit, allowing it to continue studying some of the universe’s most powerful cosmic explosions instead of gradually burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.The mission will be carried out by US startup Katalyst Space Technologies, which won the NASA contract last September. Its three-armed robotic spacecraft, named Lift, will launch aboard an air-launched Pegasus rocket from the Marshall Islands before spending about a month chasing down Swift in orbit.Swift has been observing the universe since 2004, detecting gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars. However, unusually intense solar activity over the past few years has increased atmospheric drag, causing the telescope to lose altitude faster than expected.NASA says Swift now needs to be moved from its current orbit of around 360 kilometres above Earth to approximately 600 kilometres to remain operational. If it drops below 300 kilometres before the rescue, the mission is unlikely to succeed.Once Lift reaches the telescope, it will use three robotic arms fitted with finger-like grippers to capture the spacecraft before gradually pushing it into a safer orbit over the course of two months.If successful, Swift could resume scientific observations as early as September.The mission is considered highly challenging because Swift was never designed to be repaired or physically captured in space. NASA officials have acknowledged there is no guarantee the operation will succeed.“I have to be honest. No one thought it was going to be possible. No one thought we would get as far as we’ve already gotten today,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA’s astrophysics director.NASA awarded the contract with two clear instructions. Complete the rescue quickly and avoid causing further damage to the telescope.The agency has already switched off Swift’s scientific instruments to slow its descent, with observations ending in February to buy engineers additional time.NASA science mission chief Nicky Fox said preserving the telescope remains worthwhile despite the risks.“If we let Swift reenter, we would lose that telescope. We would lose a lot of capability,” she said. “We don’t currently have the budget to build another one to replace that.” The mission could also shape the future of satellite servicing in space.Only China has previously carried out a comparable operation, successfully moving a satellite into a higher graveyard orbit in 2022.“This is the first American space robot to go up and do anything like this,” Katalyst chief executive Ghonhee Lee said.“NASA has all these big senior observatories … all of them can benefit from a service like this. So what we’re proving with this mission is this is a new play in the playbook that’s available.”If the mission succeeds, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope could be next. Like Swift, the 36-year-old Hubble is gradually losing altitude because of increased solar activity. Unlike Swift, however, Hubble has previously been serviced by astronauts during the Space Shuttle era.Katalyst believes a more advanced version of its robotic spacecraft could be ready to extend Hubble’s life by 2028.Beyond rescuing ageing telescopes, the company hopes its technology could one day repair, refuel and reposition satellites, as well as help build future space infrastructure such as solar farms and orbital data centres.
