NASA fights to save orbiting Multititle satellite from fiery death

NASA halted all scientific activity aboard its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in February in hopes of reducing drag and buying time before the space telescope’s orbital decay drags it to a fiery death by friction in Earth’s atmosphere. In the coming months, the US space agency is racing to put together a « relaunch » mission that will reposition the device to a higher, safer orbit.

That unusual operation — reportedly the first satellite service of its kind — plans to deploy a $30 million orbiter with three robotic arms, called LINK, developed by private aerospace firm Katalyst Space, to « slowly increase Swift’s altitude over several months, » as NASA put it in a press statement. But as of this morning, NASA’s mission to rescue Swift has been delayed three times in less than a week due to inhospitable weather on Tuesday and Wednesday, and now a « launcher problem » on Thursday that temporarily grounded the Katalyst rescue robot.

« The date of the next launch attempt for this mission (…) will be determined after the teams review the data from today’s attempt, » NASA public affairs specialist Alise Fisher wrote in an update.

Reboot, reuse, recycle

Over the course of Swift’s roughly 21 years in orbit, the space satellite has already gone beyond its original purpose: recording gamma-ray bursts, meaning electromagnetic evidence of distant, dense stars as they collapse to create newborn black holes. The telescope, which cost $250 million to build in 2004 (or about $452 million in today’s dollars), has since shown utility in spotting X-ray flares, mapping galaxies, tracking an asteroid hurtling past Earth, and even documenting a black hole ejecting material from its nearby star, among other spin-off uses.

« This is a high-risk, high-reward mission, » NASA Astrophysics Division Director Sean Domagal-Goldman said before the first launch attempt this week.

« We have a lot to gain by trying to make this boost more affordable than trying to replace Swift’s capabilities and allowing NASA to grow the nation’s satellite servicing industry for the benefit of all. »

The LINK robotic spacecraft will launch into space from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, a longtime strategic ally of the US in the South Pacific, aboard a modified Lockheed Martin L-1011 aircraft. From there, NASA plans to launch LINK into orbit from the air on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which will take it on an intersecting path to the Swift Observatory.

A LINK to the past

Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft reportedly weighs about 880 pounds (400 kilograms) with a height of approximately 5 feet (1.5 meters). At best, it’s a third the size of Swift itself, but it will be powered by three solar-powered ion thrusters while its robotic arms maneuver the NASA satellite to safety, retaining its ability to peer deep into space and record cosmic events from the earliest eras of the known universe.

« Swift is NASA’s go-to tool when it comes to space exploration, » said S. Bradley Cenko, principal investigator for NASA’s Swift study. « Over the past two decades, SWIFT has been a key player in NASA’s efforts to understand how the universe works, and we look forward to returning to that work once the boost is complete. »

Katalyst has only had since last September to assemble its LINK craft, when NASA reached out to commission the design, construction and testing of a device capable of gently moving its sensitive science instrument into a new orbit.

« Swift was not designed to be serviced, » noted Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee. « By demonstrating that we can quickly and cost-effectively extend its life, we are creating a service plan for spacecraft that were never designed for on-orbit maintenance. »

Lee framed it as more than a rescue mission, but a proof-of-concept, humanity needs to prove itself as a space species: « If we’re going to build a lasting presence beyond Earth, we need the ability to manipulate our environment in space, » he said. « That means deploying robotic spacecraft that can reposition, repair, refuel and realign satellites after launch. »