NASA’s Last-Ditch Rescue for Swift Telescope | San Antonio News

NASA’s aging Swift telescope, launched in 2004 to track cosmic explosions, is in danger of crashing into Earth due to solar storms accelerating its descent. In a high-stakes, nine-month scramble, NASA’s spending $30 million to send a custom-built three-armed spacecraft from Katalyst to rescue it—boosting it back to 224 miles altitude before it burns up by October. The mission faced launch delays and technical hurdles, but the rescue craft is now in orbit, ready to delicately grab and lift Swift without damaging its sensitive gear. This orbital rescue could become a blueprint for saving other aging space assets like Hubble, reminding us that even the most advanced tech is vulnerable to the universe’s wild forces. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/40902cf6652ea15e