Swift Observatory Rescue Fails | Calgary News

NASA’s aging Swift Observatory, a 20-year cosmic watchdog for gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars, is set to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere this year — but not before a dramatic, high-stakes rescue attempt. A joint mission with Katalyst Space Technologies aimed to save it using the spacecraft Link, which launched in July but quickly spiraled out of control, unable to capture and boost Swift into a higher orbit. Despite costing $30 million and failing its primary goal, NASA calls the effort a success — praising the speed of development and the valuable lessons on satellite servicing gained from the risky endeavor. Katalyst plans to keep Link nearby to test future rescue tech, turning failure into a stepping stone for space exploration. 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/5ad1b01eb332a72f